Shadow Geek
by JonnyP86
Summary: I do not own NCIS. What happens when the most underrated agent is suddenly brought into the spotlight?
1. Chapter 1

-Chapter 1-

It was another normal Monday at the Navy Yard. The brave Men and Women of NCIS were shuffling into work taking with their friends and colleagues about the weekend and what they might do for lunch. Unbeknownst to them a stranger was working his way thru the crowd.

As he moved thru the crowd making his way to the receptionist scanning the faces of the people walking by, looking for possible threats or anyone paying too much attention to him, "_Old habits die hard" _he thought to himself with a slight smile.

"Good Morning, sir." Welcome to NCIS, how can I help you?" The woman said with a tone in her voice that clearly showed her disdain for her job.

"Yes, I have an appointment with Director Vance." The man said with an accent the receptionist couldn't quite place.

"Oh! Of course sir, um, what is your name so I can inform the Director that you are here?"

"Trent Kort."

-Bullpen-

"Come on Zee-vah. Just tell me who it is."

Tony was looming over the ex-Mossad officer's desk throwing a barrage of questions her way, hoping for the tiniest clue as to who her new boyfriend was. This had become the usual scene over the past couple weeks ever since Tony had overheard Ziva in the break room turning down date from Agent Clark, by saying, "Sorry James, but I am already in a committed relationship." At first, Tony thought that she was just letting the guy down easy. But, then Tony started to pick up on the subtle changes in Ziva's behavior. She always seemed to have plans on the weekends, she would receive multiple text messages and emails thru out the day that made her face light up as soon as she read them, and the biggest clue was that on a few occasions she would show up to a late night crime scene smelling of cologne, meaning she had recently been with a man. A man that wasn't Tony, that last part really irked him. He had always had a thing for Ziva and she had repeatedly turned down his advances, every time Tony would feel himself sinking deeper and deeper into the friend-zone. He had hoped, or rather prayed , that after the fiasco with Ray last year that she would start to see him as more than a friend and hopefully as a lover.

"Tell you who what is Tony?" Ziva replied, without looking up from the case file that was on her desk. She was amused by Tony's antics at first. The way he would prance around like a five year old, desperately wanting attention. But, over the past few days she started to get extremely annoyed by his constant flirting and none stop questions about her "new" boyfriend. "_Tony can be so dense sometimes." _She thought to herself. She had been in her relationship for the better part of nine months and Tony was acting like she had just started dating again. Her boyfriend would remind her that she always had big stash of paperclips in her desk, should Tony's rambling become too much to bear.

"Your new boyfriend, Ziva." I know you have one. Who is he? And, why haven't you introduced him to me yet? My sources say you have been real hush-hush about the whole thing."

"By sources, do you mean Abby?" She asked finally looking up from the file. She had long since known that nobody shared office gossip with Tony any more after it became apparent that he could not keep a secret longer than five minutes, and it was the same with Abby. So, all the two could do these days was compare notes with each other.

"Well…uh…" Tony was taken back a little bit, as Abby was indeed his one and only source for office gossip. "Don't try to change the subject. Spill! Give me all the gory details."

"I can assure you Tony," she said over a slight giggle, "that there is nothing gory about my relationship."

"Then why won't you tell me who it is? Afraid he won't measure up when compared side by side to yours truly?" He said while doing his best GQ pose.

"It is because it is none of your bees-wax!" She snapped her eyes starting to narrow. "And you forget that I have already seen you naked. You could say my new is a definite upgrade, yes?" Tony could have sworn he died on the spot after hearing that he was less of a man than Ziva's new boy toy or to any man for that matter. He was the epitome of everything that was manly! "Jealousy really does not suite you Tony. It makes you look all….clonky."

I think you mean 'clingy'. And, I am NOT jealous of a mystery man that for all I know looks like the Elephant Man incarnate." This was an obvious lie. Anyone who had spent more than five minutes with the MCRT could see that Tony was borderline obsessed with her. Even though Ziva and Tony would flirt every now and then, their relationship never once went further than that. "I am just trying to keep you from making another huge mistake. Remember C-I-Ray?"

-THWACK-

"Butt out of her personal life."

"Butting out of her personal life Boss." Tony moaned as he made his way back to his desk.

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked after a quick glance at the empty desk.

"Probie hasn't shown up yet Boss."

"I am pretty sure the training exercise the Director sent him on ended yesterday." Ziva added. "Do you want me to go to his place to see if he overslept?"

At that Tony giggled."Of course! That would be just like McWeakling! Can't even handle a little exercise. He probably got home late last night and passed out on his living room floor because he couldn't make it to his bed." Tony looked up from his desk smiling only to have it wiped off immediately by a death glare from Ziva and Gibbs. "Or not."

"Ziva call McGee and find out what's keeping him. DiNozzo, finish that report you have been ignoring for the past two days or I will be exercising my foot right up your ass." Gibbs growled as he made his way out of the Bullpen to refill his coffee.

He didn't make three steps before stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of an all too familiar face stepping off the elevator.

"Hello Gibbs."

"Kort."

At the sound of his voice Tony had stopped working and stood up taking a position on Gibbs' left side while Ziva was slowly hanging up her phone and making her way to Gibbs' right with her arms folded across her chest.

"Hello again Cyclops! To what do we not owe this pleasure?"

"It's good to see you too DiNozzo. Love the new car by the way."

"Why are you here Kort?" Gibbs cut in trying to keep the conversation short and with it Kort's presence in the Bullpen.

"KORT." The Director had shouted from the top of the stairs and motioned to his office. With that Kort simply smiled at Gibbs and made his way to the Directors office. As Gibbs and Tony watched Kort disappear upstairs, neither of them noticed when Ziva sat back down and started to stare at McGee's desk trying to keep the worry she was feeling off her face.

-Director's Office-

Both men were standing in front of the Director's desk, Vance looked as if he would explode any second and Kort looked like he was carved out of ice.

"Alright Kort. What happened?" The tone in the Director's voice made it clear he was not in the mood for anything but absolute truth.

Kort took a breath and said simply,"We lost contact."

The Director blew up at the simple answer. "GODDAMMIT KORT! I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR YOUR CIA COVER UP BULLSHIT! NOW TELL ME IN FULL DETAIL WHAT HAPPENED TO MCGEE."

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

"_What happened to McGee?"_

"As I said Director. We lost contact"

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"If I had known the McGee would be working with you on this Op, I never would have agreed to it. You have proven time and again that your one and only focus is on the results, and that you don't give a damn about who is hurt or left holding the bag in the process."

A flash of anger passed over Kort's eye, which was not missed by Director Vance. It was common knowledge that Vance did not hold Kort in the highest of regards, but knew he was a seasoned professional, a perfect image of self control. So, this momentary show of emotion was enough to make even the Director pause.

"Firstly Vance, it was not your call to make. If I am not mistaken you were informed by SECNAV that McGee's participation in this operation was not only a request but a requirement as well." Kort gritted thru his teeth, before regaining is composure. "And who do you think requested him? Me. This may come as a surprise to you but this is not the first time I have worked with the kid. Remember the operation in Rome three months ago? Or the 'Security Conference' in Moscow last year? McGee is more than capable of handling himself in the field."

Director Vance had a reputation for being a man carved out of stone. He had never been the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but even he couldn't hide his shock at this revelation. He knew McGee was good, damn good. Unlike most of the people that worked for him he knew McGee's true worth. McGee was a common topic amongst the Directors of the US Federal Agencies and some high placed people in the Pentagon, but Vance never thought he was good enough not only to run with the CIA's most deadly asset but to have his respect and absolute confidence as well. Surprisingly, this put the Director more at ease with the situation.

Vance started to pace his office in an attempt to regain his composure then stopped and looked Kort dead in the eye, "Alright Kort, I think it is about time you read me into this operation."

At that moment Kort's phone rang. He quickly read the text message he received and gave the Director a long look before saying, "Alright Director Vance. Have MTAC cleared and secured in five minutes, I have to make a phone call. Also, you should have Gibbs and his team join us as well."

Vance nodded and walked out of his office followed by Kort. As they walked past his secretary's desk Vance quickly said, "Pam have MTAC emptied and all work secured in two minutes." He didn't even wait to hear her say, "Yes sir."

When they reached the Mezzanine Kort was talking on his phone and the Director headed downstairs.

-Bullpen-

(_A few minutes before the Director's arrival._)

Gibbs was sitting at his desk reading his email while Tony stood just behind him, eyes glued on the Director's office.

"What do you think they are talking about?"

"Don't know." Gibbs said simply. He knew about Tony's feelings towards Kort and his own were no secret either.

Both men had their own experiences with Kort and in both cases, they had left negative impressions. In Tony's case: He had encountered the CIA Agent while on his undercover assignment tracking the arms dealer La' Grenouille thru his daughter Jeanne. The end results of tangling with Kort were two attempts on Tony's life and La' Genouille's 'retirement'. Those events left Tony emotionally scarred and deep down caused him to be absolutely terrified of Kort's presence. In Gibbs case: He had already known that Kort was dangerous but didn't know how dangerous until he showed up one day with a tip about the arms dealer Jonathan Saravvo and again during the P2P killings. Gibbs was a man who could easily read people and seemed to have a general understanding of what someone was capable of. Kort was one of the very few people that Gibbs just couldn't figure out, and that is what unnerved him the most.

Gibbs glanced over and saw that Ziva was still over by the elevators talking on her cell phone. Ziva was known for her cool head and her knack for never getting flustered in front of the team. But, ever since Kort walked into the bullpen she seemed antsy and downright worried. He didn't know exactly who she had been trying to call, but couldn't help but notice that she hasn't put down her phone ever since Kort disappeared upstairs. He was able to catch the last bit of her call as she made her way back to her desk, "Please call me."

"Everything ok Ziver?" Gibbs asked while giving her his trademark piercing gaze. It was a look that made whoever it was turned on feel like Gibbs was looking right into their soul.

Before Ziva could answer Gibbs phone rang. "Yeah, Gibbs." As Gibbs was on the phone both Tony and Ziva noticed Kort and the Director emerge from his office. Kort stayed upstairs while the Director made his way to the Bullpen.

"Grab you gear! We got a dead Marine!" Gibbs ordered snapping Tony and Ziva out of their trance. As the trio made to leave the Bullpen the Director cut them off.

"Hold up Gibbs."

"Leon. We are about to head we got a call." Gibbs said as he tried to move past the Director.

"Not anymore. All of your cases have been reassigned effective immediately."

"What? Why?" Tony asked.

"Because I said so Agent DiNozzo." The director replied without taking his eyes off Gibbs. "Drop your gear and report to MTAC."

As the Director turned to head back upstairs Gibbs stopped him, "Leon wait. What's this about?"

The Director sighed and turned to face his Agent, "I'm not sure."

-MTAC-

The Director and the team were sitting in the first row looking at Kort, who standing in front of a blank screen.

"Alright Kort. Go ahead." The Director said with a nod.

"Before I begin I must stress the fact that all of you are about to be briefed on a highly classified CIA black op. Any discussion of this material with **anyone** outside of this room will be considered an act of treason and dealt with as such."

"Ah come on, Cyclops! Spare us the 'Cloak and Dagger' treatment. We all know the drill, well except for McTardy, poor guy would probably wet him…(umph)" The Director and Gibbs glanced over to see Ziva with an elbow in Tony's ribs.

"Shut up Tony and listen for once!" It was clear that Ziva was in no mood for Tony's childish behavior.

"Thank you Agent David." Kort said with a slight grin. "Now as I was saying, 'Operation Jig-Saw' is a three part operation." Kort clicked a remote and the blank screen came alive with photos and documents. "Phase one consisted of identifying a transport line that started in the UK, stretched across Europe and ended in the Middle East. Phase two was identifying the buyers and the goods they were purchasing. The buyers turned out to be a new Islamic radical group called 'Crimson Jihad'. The items they have been purchasing over the last few months have ranged from small arms to heavy weapons, to Anti-Air missiles, and sophisticated computer software that could disrupt spy satellites or hijack unmanned aerial drones." Kort paused to let the information sink in. "Which brings us to Phase three." Kort clicked the remote again, to bring up a new set of images. "Intel has it that the seller's are a group of IRA members rumored to be headquarted in Kilrush, Ireland."

"I didn't think the IRA had the connections to be international weapons traffickers." Gibbs pointed out.

"They don't." Kort responded. "If it was just them we would have been able to go in and liquidate the whole operation. But, it appears they have a silent partner. We suspected a freelancer however, the operative we sent to infiltrate the group, reported in his last update that everything he has learned was pointing to a rouge Agent in MI-6. Our operative speculates that this silent partner is the one who supplied the transport line and the members of the IRA provided the items and the buyers in the Middle East."

"How did you get the operative in? If what he says is accurate about there being a rouge Agent in MI-6, then his cover would have been blown as soon as they did a background check." Tony asked. He had dropped all jokes after the elbow from Ziva.

"You really shouldn't underestimate the CIA or our undercover man. We set him up with the absolute best cover ID, that can withstand any amount of probing from other agencies, and he is one of the absolute best when it comes to stuff like this." Kort stated, unable to contain his smile. "His cover is that of a Mercenary with ties to the Kilrush area and an expertise in computer engineering. He approached the group with a 'Trojan Horse', a computer program that could bypass security protocols on US surface ships by piggy backing off of their own GPS signals."

Gibbs was starting to feel uneasy about where this was going, "Where is the operative now?" He asked with a hint of discomfort in his voice.

"We lost contact two days ago. He had already made contact with several members of the IRA group and was going to a meeting with their leader to negotiate the sale of the program. Which in turn would have lead him to the silent partner. Now, usually when we don't hear from an operative after a meeting it means one of two things. First, his cover was blown and was killed after being tortured without mercy for any information he has. And second, is that the meeting went off without a hitch and can't risk contacting us at this point in time, as it would blow his cover." After glancing around the room Kort continued. "However, given the operative's skill set I am of the belief that he is alive and well and if he has not done so yet he will be identifying the silent partner soon."

No one noticed that Ziva, who had been holding her breath during Kort's entire briefing, let out a sigh of relief and a silent prayer to the Heavens.

"What guarantees do you have that he is still alive? Vance interjected.

Everything became clear at this point for Gibbs. Who had glued his eyes to the Director's face.

"I expect proof to come thru any moment Director." Kort replied.

Gibbs face was beet red and his eyes wide with rage, "LEON, TELL ME YOU DIDN'T! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? HOW COULD YOU LET HIM TAKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS ON WITHOUT TELLING ME?" Gibbs bellowed.

Tony started to look back and forth between Kort and Gibbs and the Director with a look of total confusion on his face. "What a minute. Who are we talking about here? Do we know the guy you sent in undercover or something?"

Kort smiled and marveled at the density Tony could possess at times. "Yes you do DiNozzo. In fact he is someone you know quite well." With that Kort clicked his remote again and a Dossier of his operative came on the screen.

Tony was utterly floored as he looked at a picture of a man who was now undercover with one of the most deadly paramilitary group in Europe, a man who, according to Kort, had skills that rivaled James Bond and Jason Bourne, a picture of Timothy McGee.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N – Thank you for all of the reviews, favs, and follows! They are much appreciated and I am humbled by your comments. They make me want to try even harder to give you readers a story that you can easily visualize and be absorbed in. Thanks again!**_

_**Warning: The Chapters are going to start getting much longer from here on out. Sorry if it is a problem, but my mind is going into over with this story and I want to paint as accurate a picture as I can for you. I do not own NCIS.**_

-Chapter 3-

"This…this doesn't make any sense." Tony sputtered out, still not over the state of shock he was in. "I mean, this is Probie we are talking about! The guy doesn't have the mettle for an operation like this! He hasn't even been undercover before and can't even fight! Sure he lost a little weight but, the guy is terrified of his own shadow….."

-THWACK-

"Shut up DiNozzo!" Gibbs ordered, cutting Tony's rambling short with his trademark headslap. "How long has McGee been working for you Kort?" Gibbs asked barely able to contain his anger.

"To be precise, he doesn't work for **me**. He is still very much an employee of NCIS. But, he has assisted me in a few operations since last year." He said, noticing Gibbs had turned to glare at the Vance, he continued, "Oh you shouldn't be mad at the Director Gibbs. He had no idea I was McGee's case officer until this morning. No, I had SECNAV make the requests for McGee's involvement."

"But why Probie? Surly there were far more qualified agents you could have used. Like Ziva or _**me**_, for instance." Tony put in, his vanity starting to show.

"Actually DiNozzo, there weren't as far as I am concerned." Kort replied. "I have been interested in McGee for some time and have followed his career for years waiting for a chance to use him to his **full **potential." Kort emphasized that last point while looking at Gibbs. "Unlike you DiNozzo, McGee is not a show off or a loudmouth. He doesn't care about what people think and prefers to keep a lot of thing to himself, attributes that prove to be very useful in the field. If it wasn't for his extreme modesty, I am certain you would be able to see that he is far more than a 'Probie'."

"You said something about having proof that McGee was alive, despite having lost contact?" The Director asked trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Indeed Director." Kort answered while taking out his phone and dialing a number. "Send the feed." Was all he said before hanging up the phone and typing a few commands into the MTAC control panel. When Kort finished he picked the remote up again and clicked it at the screen. This is satellite footage from a meeting that McGee attended, two days ago, with his targets. They were buying some communication equipment from four US Sailors that were trying to make a quick buck. "I am not quite sure how he did it but, apparently he did such a great job integrating himself into the group they brought him along to verify the product."

Kort then clicked the remote and the video started. "These four individuals are the Sailors, they had set the meeting 25 miles outside of Kilrush." Then two jeeps entered the frame carrying five passengers. "They are McGee and his targets." Kort said while pointing at the 2 jeeps. The scene then turned into something out of an action movie. After what appeared to be a brief conversation between the two parties, the Sailors drew their weapons and opened fire. One of the IRA members was down before the others could react. Then after grabbing cover, the IRA drew their own weapons and returned fire. Even though the footage was grainy, everyone in MTAC could see that everyone on the screen seemed inexperienced in close quarters combat. All except one. They watched as one figure was darting between covering position and placing well aimed shots at the sailors. After putting down three of the four on his own he took a round in the shoulder. A few seconds later the fourth Sailor was silenced by the other IRA members. "The man who took a hit in the shoulder was McGee," Kort said noticing the looks of concern on the faces of his audience. The footage continued, one member of the IRA was checking the Sailors to make sure they were dead, a second was checking the cases the Sailors had brought with them only find them empty. He took out his frustration by kicking the crates and shooting one of the corpses nearby. And the third, who was considerably shorter than the others, clearly a woman had rushed to McGee's side and was helping him to his feet. This caused Ziva's jaw to clench. After a brief gathering around the dead IRA member, the survivors climbed into one of the jeeps and took off. Kort then clicked the remote and the screen went blank.

"As you can see, McGee is still alive. Injured but alive none the less, with his cover still intact." Kort said. "Our Intel has it that the sailors got a little greedy and tried to rob the IRA group by setting up a fake deal. All four are stationed on a Sea-Wolf class nuclear submarine called 'The Trident' that is currently docked in England. Their Comander were reported UA this morning."

Vance stood up from his chair and walked to the center of the room. After a brief moment of thought he turned the Kort and said, "It looks to me that Agent McGee could use some assistance."

Kort just smiled. "That's why I am here. As it is, McGee is in deep. As you saw, as of two days ago his cover was intact and there is no reason the suspect otherwise. As it happens, chatter indicates that Crimson Jihad is on the move and they are making their way to France to negotiate a purchase McGee's program. So, that means that McGee is still in the perfect position to take down not only the IRA members and the terrorist, but also flush out the traitor in MI-6 and destroy his transport line."

"But what if something goes wrong and McGee needs support? Things could still go very bad very fast and he is all alone!" Ziva exclaimed.

"Quite right," Kort responded. "But it is not like I can just go in there and pull him out. He is on a Top Secret mission. As far as the world is concerned McGee isn't even in Europe. Not to mention a sudden CIA presence in the UK will most certainly arouse suspicion from the guy in MI-6 but could also, blow McGee's cover." Then Kort smiled and looked at Vance. "However, I do believe the four US Sailors have been murdered in Ireland recently and their deaths would almost certainly need to be investigated. Who knows where an investigation like that may lead."

The Director gave Kort a knowing look and said, "Thank you very much for your time Kort. I am certain that you can find your own way out." Then turning to Gibbs, "Agent Gibbs I would like to see you, your team, Miss Sciuto, and Doctor Mallard in my office." And walked out of MTAC.

Gibbs clenched his jaw and stood up to make his way to the door. Without looking back he ordered, "DiNozzo get Abby, I will get Ducky, Ziva escort Kort out." And then left the room.

Kort, Ziva, and Tony shared a moment of silence then exited MTAC. Outside Tony walked to the elevator and pushed the call button to head down to Abby's lab while Ziva and Kort made their way downstairs, but not before Tony said, "Nice seeing you again Cyclops! It is always exciting when you drop by. Hope we can do this never again!"

"The feeling is mutual DiNozzo." Kort replied without so much as a glance in Tony's direction.

As Ziva and Kort reached the elevator in the Bullpen Ziva turned to Kort.

"Ok Kort. Level with me. How serious is it?"

Kort sighed. "It is pretty hairy over there. This business with the Sailors is an unexpected but, welcomed event. As you know, Tim's failsafe has always been to incorporate the Navy somehow so as to keep you guys in the loop to some degree. And Vance is right. Tim will need some help before this is over Ziva. I trust Tim's judgment and expertise and if he suspects that and agent of MI-6 is involved then I am willing to bet my eye that he is right. This could prove to be a very difficult challenge, even for him."Kort could see the worry in Ziva's eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tim is fine Ziva. You know just as well as me what he can do, he can take care of himself. Admittedly, I would like nothing more than to go over there myself, but the risks far outweigh the rewards. Tim is more than just an asset to me, he is my friend. Perhaps my only friend. So, the next best thing I can do is send you and rest of Gibbs' crew over there to watch his back." Ziva smiled and gave a slight nod.

Kort then stepped into the elevator and pushed the lobby button. "I'll call you if I learn anything new." Kort said. Then the doors closed and Kort was gone.

Ziva took a deep breath and grabbed her Star of David pendant, holding it in-between her fingers she said to herself, "I'll be there soon baby. Please stay safe until I get there." And headed for the Directors office.

-Abby's Lab-

As Tony walked in to Abby's lab he was greeted with the usual loud music and extreme personality of the Forensic Specialist. Abby was putting the finishing touches on her 'Welcome home Timmy!' decorations.

"HEY! ABBS!" Tony shouted over the music.

"Oh hey Tony!" Abby said while turning the music down. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to give me a heads up when you were bringing Timmy down!"

"Yeah, I know Abbs, but…"

"Never mind that! What do you think?" Abby interrupted while motioning to her hard work. "You think McGee will like them?"

"Yeah they look great! But…" Tony started trying not to get sidetracked, but was interrupted again.

"I know right! I put a lot of effort into this and I think 'Operation Woo Timmy' will be a success! I left him on the sidelines long enough I think, and tonight I am going to allow him to take me out to dinner! If he plays his cards right I might even allow him to be my boyfriend!" Abby said with a smirk. "Oh hey, how's 'Operation Woo Ziva' going? I told your she let it slip that her new boyfriend was out of town! This is the perfect opportunity to sweep her off her feet! Oh, maybe we could double date!"

"Ahh…It's not going as well as I planned. Ziva is still playing hard to get. But, maybe you're right Abbs. I could invite her out and then while she is relaxed by you and Tim I could pour some of the old DiNozzo charm on her, and get her to see how much I really care about her," Tony started to shake his head, "What am I doing? Come on, we are needed in the Director's office." With that Tony grabbed her arm and dragged her to the elevator.

"Wait! Tony, what are doing?! What about Timmy's welcome home surprise?!"

-Autopsy-

Ducky and Jimmy were finishing up on an autopsy when Gibbs walked in.

"Hey Duck, got a minute?"

"Jethro! I always have a minute for a friend you know that!" Ducky said without looking up from his work.

"Good. We're needed in the Director's office." Gibbs said simply but his tone was not lost on Ducky. Ducky knew that it was serious.

"Of course. Mister Palmer would mind finishing up here?" Ducky asked while moving to the sink to wash up.

"Of course Doctor!" Jimmy answered with his usual smile.

When the two men got on the elevator Gibbs hit the button for the Director's office. As the elevator climbed Gibbs hit the emergency switch.

"Is it that bad Jethro?" Ducky asked but of course he already knew the answer.

"Yeah Duck." Gibbs said with a sigh. "It's about Tim. He apparently wasn't on a training exercise for the past two weeks, but was actually on a deep cover operation in Ireland."

"Dear Lord! Is he alright?" Ducky asked genuinely surprised.

"For now. But Duck, why didn't he tell me? He knows he can come to me with anything and I won't judge him for it. Granted I didn't think he was qualified for a deep cover job abroad but still" Gibbs sighed again, feeling betrayed.

"Maybe that is where the problems lie Jethro." Ducky said with a meaningful look.

"What are you talking about Ducky?"

"What I mean is that, it is no big secret that young Timothy's abilities are highly underrated and belittled by Anthony. And you don't exactly give him much opportunity to prove himself now do you? Maybe this is his way of showing you that he is far more capable than he is given credit for." Gibbs then remembers what Kort said in MTAC, _"I had been waiting for a chance to use him to his full potential."_ Then Ducky continued, "Then again Jethro, it could be something as simple as, he was not allowed to tell you."

"Still Duck…" Gibbs had started but was quickly cut off by Ducky.

"I believe you have a rule that states: If you must keep a secret tell no one, If you must tell one person. You do know your own rules right Jethro?"

Gibbs stared at the floor for a minute then turned and switched the power back on in the elevator. As the elevator stared climbing again he said, "You're right Duck." Right now was no time to be petty about what did or did not say. All that mattered was getting Tim home safely. There would plenty of time to talk later.

-The Director's Office-

After giving a brief summary to Ducky and Abby about what McGee has really been doing the past two week, omitting certain details like Kort and McGee being shot and the Rogue MI-6 Agent. He briefed the team on what they were going to be doing.

"Now obviously you are all concerned about Agent McGee, but I must remind you that you that officially you are going to the UK to investigate the deaths of the 4 sailors. Agent Thompson will meet you in Dublin and escort you to the crime scene. He will also bring you up to speed on the investigation so far. Unofficially, you will be providing support for Agent McGee on his current assignment. Under no circumstances are you to try and reach out to him in anyway. If you follow the investigation you are bound to run into McGee eventually." The Director said coolly.

Ducky and the rest nodded their heads but Abby was almost in hysterics.

"But, sir! What if something happens to him while we are investigating? Tim doesn't really know how to handle himself in situations like this!"

"_That's what I said!" _Tony thought.

"I mean Timmy is so innocent and frail, I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to **my **Timmy!" Abby confessed.

"_**Your**__ Timmy? Get over yourself Abby! You have long since been out of the picture. And don't call him frail and innocent. The only person in this room who knows the real Tim McGee is me! _Ziva couldn't help but think to herself.

"Never the less Miss Scuito, "The Director said, "If you go off the reservation to look for him, you will only be putting him in danger. He is undercover."

"Of course sir! Oh no! What about Jethro?!" The Director visibly sighed. "Timmy said a friend was watching him while he was out of town, but his friend doesn't know he is not back yet! We have to find him and…" But Abby was cut off.

"That won't be necessary. Jet is at my place. I have been watching him while Tim was gone." Ziva said wanting to end this useless banter and get a move on, she noticed that every pair of eyes was on her at this point but she didn't care. "I will handle the arrangements for Jet before we leave, so again do not worry about it."

"You're watching him? But Timmy never told me…"

"Does he have to tell you everything Abby?" Ziva said rather harshly.

"Enough!" The Director roared. "There are more important things at stake than a damn dog. Now your flight leaves at 8:00 AM. That should be more than enough time to go home, pack, and put your affairs in order. All working equipment will be provided by Agent Thompson. You are dismissed!"

With that Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, Ducky, and Abby nodded and left the Director's office to prepare for their mission.

-To Be Continued-


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- **_**In**__**this Chapter our hero appears. Sorry but this chapter is really long, I wanted to show the full picture of what took place in Ireland leading up to the satellite footage that Kort showed Team Gibbs. Sorry about the delay.**_

_**Still don't own NCIS. Thanks to all the readers for your reviews and for the support.**_

-Chapter 4-

_-Kilrush, Ireland 2 weeks ago-_

The local pub was packed. Filled with the usual crowd, old drunkards spinning wild tales about past adventures, men who had gotten off work and wanted to have a couple of drinks before heading home to their nagging wives, and the local hooligans getting drunk and bitching about the days match. With so much activity it is easy for a few people to go unnoticed and have a private conversation, even in a crowded place.

"So MacGreggor, right?" asked a man who had introduced himself as Colin. "Tell me more about yourself. Where'd you train? You still go family in the area?" Colin was met with silence. "Come on man, I'm just trying to pass the time until Rachel arrives." Colin said as he gulped more of his beer down. He was on his third pint and couldn't help but notice that the man known as MacGreggor had barely touched his first.

A small sigh escaped MacGreggor's lips."I trained abroad, grandparents are buried here, and I don't do small talk." MacGreggor stated with a blank expression.

"Ok man. That's cool! You want to keep it professional, I get it!" Colin replied quickly, clearly unnerved by the look in MacGreggor's eyes. "I was just thinking…"

"You shouldn't do that Colin. We both know you aren't very good at it." A woman said while sitting down at the table.

"Well that was downright rude Rachel! I didn't realize you were in such a bitchy mood when I talked to you earlier."

Rachel just gave him a look and said, "Why don't you go get me a beer and let the grown-ups talk?

"Touchy touchy!" Colin smiled and went to the bar.

"Sorry about that Mr. MacGreggor, my little brother can be a bit of an ass sometimes." Rachel said while looking MacGreggor over. She had to admit, from what she saw he was absolutely gorgeous. The thing that got her the most was his eyes. Deep green emeralds that seemed to shine even in the dim light of the bar. But, Rachel was a professional; she wasn't the type to let her carnal desires interfere with her job. "So, Mr. MacGreggor…" Rachel started but was cutoff.

"Call me Mac. Saying 'Mr. MacGreggor' makes me sound like a college professor or something."

Rachel chuckled a bit. "Ok Mac, I'll be honest with you. Our group doesn't just open up to strangers who come bearing gifts out of the blue. Not without first knowing who we are dealing with. That's my job! I run security and counter-intel for our group, and I am very good at what I do."

"Look lady, I'm not here to join your little club. I came here because, I have something that could fetch a very high price and I need help getting it out on the market and into the hands of someone who will pay top dollar for it. And please, don't patronize me. I know you have already done a thorough check up on me, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now." Mac stated. The only emotion he was showed was annoyance.

Rachel simply smiled. "You are correct Mac. I have already checked and re-checked your background and your escapades. I was especially impressed with the work you did in Panama in 2004 and Costa Rica in 2005."

"Costa Rica was '04 and Panama was '05." He corrected her.

"Hmmm. You're right. My mistake." Rachel apologized.

Of course they both knew that she made the mistake on purpose. A not to subtle way to trip him up and confirm his background.

"However, I am sure you can understand that my Boss and his partner are wary of strangers for a reason. I am certain you have heard the phrase, 'When something appears too good to be true, chances are it is.' The computer program you are looking to sell will be worth a fortune to our clients, but my Boss and his partner have some questions for you that need to be answered before negotiations can begin."

Mac nodded and then Colin sat back down. Mac had noticed earlier that Colin was talking to some of the drunks at the bar while glancing at him a couple of times. He could guess what was being said and what was going to happen very soon.

"Here is your beer sis!" Colin said with a smile.

"Thanks Colin but, we're leaving." Rachel said slowly. "Mac we will call you with a time and place to continue our discussion." She nodded and headed out.

Mac could hear Colin as he got up and trail after her, "What the hell Rachel! You make me waste my hard earned money to buy you beer so you could flirt with the new guy, and you don't even drink it! You really are in a bitchy mood!"

Mac cracked his neck and sighed. Then finally took a big gulp of beer. He just had one more thing to do before he could go back to his hotel and get some sleep. He got up and walked out of the bar glancing at the men that Colin was talking to a few minutes ago. Once Mac was out of the bar he took a deep breath of the cold night air and started to walk back to his hotel. He was only six feet from the front door of the bar when he heard it open again.

"OYE! YOU!" one of the men had shouted.

Mac turned and looked over the five men standing in front of him. "What?"He asked. Though he already knew what was about to happen. He had seen it done this dance before in Moscow and again in Rome.

"YOU 'ER DAT JIM? THIS YANK TINKS HE"S TOUGH!"

"YEAH HE DOES, DOESN'T HE? WHY DON'T WE GIVE HIM A WAKE UP CALL?"

With that all five men jumped at Mac. Little did they know, they were jumping into their worst nightmare. The first man took a side kick to the face, consequently breaking his nose and knocking out three teeth. The others didn't fare so well either. One had his face put thru a nearby car window, another had a broken kneecap and cracked cheekbone, and the third had a broken collarbone and from what Mac could tell four broken ribs. Unfortunately, that guy was still conscious so he had to endure the agonizing pain of multiple broken bones for a while. The fifth guy, obviously the youngest, stood in awe at first of the carnage he had just witnessed. Then he summoned all the bravado he could muster and picked up a beer bottle, breaking it on the ground. Then, he motioned towards Mac that he was ready to fight. Mac just stared at the kid, and then reached under his jacket and unsheathed the 6 inch blade he had concealed at the small of his back. He then gave the kid a look that said, "Let's do this." The kid immediately dropped his weapon and took off running, but not before pissing himself. This caused Mac to chuckle before sheathing his most valuable treasure. Having the blade with him at all times made Mac feel as if his one true love was with him no matter where in the world he was.

Mac turned around to continue on to his hotel but stopped when he noticed Rachel and Colin standing a few feet away. As expected they had watched the whole exchange. Colin had a grin on his face and then looked at his sister and nodded in approval. Rachel wasted no time in walking up to Mac with a half-smile of her own.

"Impressive! Efficient, brutal, precise. Very good!" Rachel praised.

"Is the audition over?" Mac asked again showing annoyance.

"The physical stuff yes. However, my boss and his partner still have their questions and depending on how well the 'interview' goes, my require a demonstration of your program." Rachel answered all business again. "We will pick you up in two days at dawn in front of your hotel. Get some rest. I assure you that you will need it." She teased. And with that both her and Colin climbed into a nearby car and left.

Mac watched as they disappeared from sight and walked over to the conscious brawler. "Give me your phone." He asked

"Wh…what?"

Mac grabbed the man's broken collarbone and squeezed. This made the man gasp in pain so severe that he couldn't even form words. "You phone." Mac repeated. Then man motioned to his pants pocket and Mac released his shoulder and removed the phone. "Thanks." He said while walking away and dialing a number.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Jesus Tim! Is everything alright? I don't recognize the number."

"I'm fine Trent. Just got done with the usual audition. Earned myself an interview two days from now at dawn."

"Hmmm. What do you think?"

"Well there is definitely a silent partner. Not sure if he will be at the interview. Not even sure if the Boss will be there either. I think this will get me a face to face though in order to negotiate a deal for the program. This Rachel chick said I might be required to do a demonstration of its capabilities."

"Ok. What type of interview do you think it is?"

"Probably the usual. Sleep deprivation, sodium pentothal, and the likes."

"Oh…for a moment there I thought it was going to be difficult. Sounds like a walk in the park. So, how many did they send after you?"

"Five. Four of them will be having an extended stay in the local hospital and the other one will need to go thru potty training again."

"You pulled your knife on him didn't you?"

"Yeah."

Kort chuckled. "Shit I would probably piss myself too if your pointed that thing at me. Your lady sure has an amazing taste in cutlery!"

"That she does."

"Take care McGee."

"I will. I'll call you after the interview, but I don't know how long it will take. Give four days with them just to be on the safe side."

"Will do."

With that McGee ended the phone call and started to disassemble the phone dropping the pieces in random storm drains on his way back to the hotel. Rachel was right. He was going to need some rest.

-The Interview-

He wasn't sure how long he had been in there but, he could safely guess that it was about two days. It was hard to tell time in a sodium pentothal haze, but not impossible. Doses of sodium pentothal usually last about four hours, but skilled interrogators will give you an injection around hour three right before it starts to wear off. And since he was on injection nineteen, he calculated that he had been there for around two days. Along with the truth serum came sleep deprivation, usually loud sirens and flashing light were used, but in this case his interrogators opted for really loud death metal music. McGee was not a fan of the music, he hated it in fact, but he couldn't help but smile inwardly as it reminded him of the times Abby would blare this god awful music throughout the halls of NCIS. Then came the dehydration, when the body starts to experience dehydration the mind will start to play tricks on you or you could start to say more than you should when answering questions. Then there are the questions themselves. Some are meaningless, some are to see about your past to see if you are telling the truth, and others are just to keep you off balance. When you combine the drugs, sleep deprivation, dehydration, and confusing questions you make it extremely difficult to lie during an interrogation. But when you throw in one of the most sophisticated polygraph machines in the world, a model only used by a small handleful of government agencies, then lying become an impossible feat. However, Tim McGee was far from unprepared. He was a boy scout at heart and applied their motto of _"always be prepared" _to every aspect of his life. This made him a great student, federal agent, and undercover operative. He never passed up an opportunity to absorb the knowledge of those that were more experienced and wiser than he was. For the situation he currently found himself in he was most grateful to Trent Kort and his teachings on how to make it thru an interrogation under duress. Kort had told him _"Try not to think of telling a lie, but only concentrate on limiting the truth." _ That had become Tim's mantra for situation like this one, because even with all the added stimulants and lack of sleep and water it was still easier to limit the truth than it was to try and formulate a lie.

However, just because you are being interrogated doesn't mean you can't get answers to your own questions. The type of equipment being used, the location you are in, the behavior of your interrogators, and the questions they ask are all useful pieces of information that can provide answers. Having spent two days in their hands and keeping true to his teachings, he had learned a great deal about his targets. Firstly, the location he was in spoke loudly about their influence in Kilrush. When he was picked him up in front of his hotel by Rachel, Colin, and one of their lackeys named Adam they had put a bag over his head, a common tactic to prevent someone from seeing where they were going. They had driven around for about an hour or so but they had never left Kilrush, he knew this because the car had never left pavement and all the roads outside of town were dirt. This action caused McGee to realize that everyone in Kilrush supported this group and in this town they got whatever they needed, as nobody seemed to care or notice that a car full of people one with a bag over his head driving around the streets in the early morning hours. The building he was kept in was clearly abandoned as he constantly felt cross drafts and could smell dirty water, which meant he was near the river on the edge of town, which told him that they were also well prepared to have selected a location that was away from curious patrons. He also learned that they were more interested in his program than they were in him or his past. Proven by the fact that most of the questions they had asked him over the past two days were about the program and its capabilities. They had also asked if he had any experience with Navy communication software, he did but didn't know what that had to do with anything so he just let it slide. The most valuable piece of information came from the polygraph machine and the web-cam attached to it. Even though Rachel was the one asking the questions he could tell that she was reading them from a computer screen. He surmised that whoever was on the other end of that camera was the one that was really asking the questions. And then there was the machine. He had only seen machine of this caliber used by a select few of government agencies. The CIA being one but ruled them out due to the fact that he would already be dead if the person on the other end was CIA. That left only two that he knew of, the GSB and…MI-6. McGee's mind was racing trying to put together the pieces of information he had to try and see the bigger picture. But he couldn't think straight. He really needed to sleep, staying awake for two days is no easy task but, when you add the stress of keeping your cover intact during a rigorous interrogation it can really take a toll on you.

Then all of the sudden the music stopped. He kept his head down to control his breathing and ready his mind for the next round of questioning.

"Mac. Mac, hey Mac are you still with us?" a soft caring voice asked.

McGee looked up to see that Rachel was kneeling in front of him with soft brown eyes and a gentle smile. He simply nodded. She returned his nod with one of her own and began to undo his restraints. It wasn't until Rachel started to help him out of the chair that McGee realized the interrogation was over.

"The Boss and his partner are satisfied with your answers. They said to take you back to your hotel and let you get your strength back." Rachel said with a certain softness in her voice.

"Ok." McGee said. He didn't realized how weak he was until he tried to walk way and stumbled because his legs were asleep. Rachel had caught him before he fell and whispered, "Don't worry. I got you." She supported him until he regained his balance. "Thanks." McGee said while looking for his stuff. "Where's my stuff?" He asked suddenly becoming alert.

"It' over there. The table on the left." Rachel pointed to the side of the room.

McGee stormed over to the table and started frantically throwing his stuff around looking of his treasure. "Where is it?" He growled while turning back to stare at Rachel.

"Where is what? All of the stuff you had two days ago is on that table." Rachel defended.

"WHERE'S MY KNIFE?!" McGee shouted.

Just then the Adam guy walked in. "Oh hey man. Looking for your blade? Here you go. I just borrowed it for a little bit. Wanted to scare the piss out of some assholes on the street you know? That's a real wicked looking bl…" Adam did not get a chance to finish his sentence as McGee had crossed the room at lightning has speed grabbing Adam by the throat pinning him to the wall.

McGee stared into Adam's eyes with rage and an intense desire to kill. "Don't ever touch my knife again. Got it?" He said slowly but with an obvious threat of death if the guy ever did.

All Adam could do was grunt his response and McGee let him go. Then he walked back to the table after picking up his knife. He carefully inspected it in the light to make sure it was in the same condition that it was two days ago. Satisfied it wasn't damaged he sheathed it and strapped it to his back then put on his jacket.

Rachel appeared at his side holding out a bottle of water. "Here it's water." She eyed him as he drank the water and asked, "She must have been someone you loved greatly. The woman who gave you the knife."

McGee was close to telling her to mind her own business but he could help himself. "Yeah. And I still do."

Rachel just nodded and said, "I know the feeling. Come on Mac, lets get you back to your hotel. You have a meeting next week and I have orders to make sure you are in tip top shape."

McGee didn't say anything and followed her out. He was dying to get some sleep in a bed.

Rachel had stayed with him for a few days, making sure he had what he needed and making his meals for him. During that time she couldn't help but be reminded of her late husband whenever she looked at Mac. The nights she would watch him sleep she would absent mindedly stroke her crucifix. Her husband, Dylan, had given it to her the day before he and his entire platoon were killed in an ambush a year ago. She had sworn to herself that she would lock away her heart and never love like that again. That is until the enigmatic MacGreggor had walked into her life. Try as she might she couldn't help the feeling welling up inside her. She was starting to fall in love with a man she had barley known, other than his file and what she had learned in the interrogation. She knew though that one of the reasons for her feelings sudden return was the knife that MacGreggor carried around. It was a beautiful weapon but the reason for her interest in it was the inscription that was on the blade. She had noticed it a few days ago, it wasn't in English but she wrote it down and Googled it later. It turns out that it was written in Hebrew and translated to _"Beloved – May this blade protect you when I am not around to so." _The message had brought tears to her eyes. She began to think that her and Mac were the same. That they were both broken by a twist and cruel fate. When she finally took her leave from Mac's place she silently swore to herself that she would be the one to heal Mac's heart. And by doing that hers would be healed and then they would both be free to love each other. She would be his and he would be hers, she just knew that was going to be their future.

-Face to Face-

McGee was sitting in the Pub in a booth at the back of the bar. Rachel had called him the day before and told him to be here at 7:30 and to sit in this particular booth. At 7:45 the door to the bar opened and Colin walked in followed by Rachel and a man that looked to be in his fifties. The three made their way over to the booth, but only the older man sat down in it. Rachel and Colin took a seat at the adjacent table and positioned themselves in a way so that they were looking at the booth.

After looking at McGee for a second, the man extended his hand and said, "I'm Desmond."

"MacGreggor." McGee replied as the two shook hands.

"Colin, will you be so kind as to get us some Jamison?" Desmond asked without taking his eyes off McGee.

"Yes sir."

McGee couldn't help but notice the similarities between Desmond and Gibbs. They were both around the same age, but that didn't mean much. Despite getting on in years neither man seemed to have lost a step, and God help the person who underestimated them. Also, they were both soldiers to the core, and respected their "brothers in arms" without question. And, above all else, they commanded the absolute best from their subordinates. Colin returned with a un opened bottle and two glasses. After placing them in between McGee and Desmond he silently returned to his seat. Like Gibbs, Desmond had a soul piercing gaze and it was directed right at McGee. Fortunately, having worked with Gibbs for the past eight years McGee was used to it and didn't bat an eye. Though he would never admit it, this impressed Desmond the most, a man who could look him in the eye and not falter.

Desmond finally broke the silence. "I hear you and Adam got into a little bit of a scuffle the other night."

"Yeah. He had taken something that didn't belong to him." McGee said coldly. He hated it when people touched his treasure.

"He gave it back if I am not mistaken."

"He did, but he shouldn't have taken it in the first place." McGee replied harshly.

"No. He shouldn't have. But, I am pretty sure he won't be doing it again anytime soon. Not after the little talk you two had." Desmond said with a slight smile. "Every man has boundaries."

"And God help the people who cross them."

"Hmmmmm." Desmond nodded and though, _"Rachel was right. This man does bear a striking resemblance to Dylan. My son had these exact same qualities: confidence, a sharp tongue, and obvious combat experience. And they would be right around the same age as well." _"Look MacGreggor, I am not a guy who likes to beat around the bush. Our clients are very interested in your program and are meeting us in France in two weeks time to negotiate the sale. They will want a full demonstration before a figure is discussed. But they are willing to pay top dollar."

McGee just nodded.

"Now, as far as the split goes we feel that 50-50 is fair." Desmond said.

McGee almost agreed on the spot, but remembered that he was supposed to be a mercenary. "60-40. It is my program and no offense but, you are just brokering the deal."

Rachel and Colin exchanged a surprised look. No one ever challenged Desmond before.

Desmond's face was blank but inwardly he was grinning from ear to ear. _"Just like a true soldier of fortune", _he thought _"I am really starting to like this guy." _After a moment of silence Desmond reached over and opened the bottle of Jamison and poured an inch in each glass. He slid one glass to McGee and said, "Alright MacGreggor, I will give you your 60% on one condition. My business partner in England has a job lined up to purchase some communication equipment off a few US Sailors next week. However, I don't have anyone under my command that can verify the product. You help me out on this job and you got your 60%." Desmond then raised his glass. "Deal?"

McGee thought for a second. Desmond had just confirmed his suspicions that an agent of MI-6 was indeed his silent partner, but in order to get near him he needed to do this job. It would be a huge risk, but it was one worth taking. Like Trent always says, _"Nothing ventured. Nothing gained." _McGee raised his glass and joined Desmond in his cheers. "Deal."

Rachel and Colin looked at each other and smiled.

**-To be continued-**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello again everyone! I hope you don't think that I forgot about you! Sorry for the delay but, this chapter went through some re-writes. In this chapter we get to see what McGee looks like through his team's eyes. And we get a little look into Ziva and McGee's relationship, but the next Chapter will be more in depth. Enjoy!**

**P.S. – Oh and there is a little nugget hidden in this chapter that will become a serious issue later on. See is you can find it! :D**

-**Chapter 5-**

-Somewhere Over the Atlantic-

They had been in the air for about four hours, and still had another three hours before they landed. Fortunately, they were flying in style aboard the Directors Gulfstream.

The team had boarded the plane at 7:45 that morning and took off at 8:00 sharp. Ducky had taken a seat at the rear of the plane anxious to get some more sleep, as he was starting to feel the effect of the long nights on aged body. He had stayed up most of the night packing and met up with Gibbs in the early morning at Gibbs's house, and rode to the airport with him. Gibbs was seated across from him but had no interest in sleeping. Gibbs had gone home the night before and had packed in ten minutes. He spent the rest of the night in the seclusion of his basement reading the operation reports on McGee and a detailed account of what his Agent had done so far in the past two weeks, while drinking a combination of Jack Daniels and coffee. During the flight thus far, Gibbs had barely spoken to anyone as he was still absorbed in the reports on McGee and his role in Operation Jigsaw. At this time Gibbs was having an internal conflict between anger and parental pride. The anger he felt he knew was petty but that didn't stop him from feeling it. He was angry because his youngest agent had never mentioned this operation to him even once; all his 'kids' knew they were supposed to come to him before they went to anyone else. It kind of hurt his feelings to know that his youngest didn't feel that he could come to him with this.

"_But what would I have done if he did?" _Gibbs thought to himself. _"Would I have given him support? Offered advice? Or would I have done what I have always done, and treat him like a child and forbid him from going?" _Gibbs shook his head at his thoughts knowing full well what he would have said and done.

But over the last twenty-four hours, the small flame of parental pride Gibbs had for his youngest 'son' started growing into a raging inferno. The more Gibbs read about McGee and what all he had accomplished, the more pride felt. The reports he was reading were not complete, as they often weren't when the CIA was involved, but the parts that were there showed the stoic Team Leader a Timothy McGee that he didn't know existed. The reports showed not a soft skinned, gentle child that needed to be protected. But rather, a confident, highly skilled and well versed operative. One that could walk into the very Gates of Hell and not get burned. The fact that Gibbs didn't know this side of McGee existed, left him wondering when the transformation occurred. Gibbs thought back on all the times he had left McGee behind at the office, because he felt he was 'too green' for the field. He thought about how he had overlooked McGee's evolution from bumbling rookie into the agent he was today. Then Gibbs had an epiphany. McGee was self taught. Gibbs had unintentionally denied field experience to his youngest agent time and time again, yet somehow McGee still became an exceptional field agent and an investigator on par with Tony and himself. Gibbs had bull headedly assumed that McGee became who was because of his and DiNozzo's influence, but realized now just how wrong he was. McGee was never taught by his peers. Everything he learned, he learned on his own. This not only made Gibbs swell with pride over the young man who was under his charge but also, he started to feel disappointed not only in himself but also his Senior Field Agent. Their youngest team member had developed into an exceptional agent and they had absolutely no hand in it. That's when Gibb's conversation with Ducky from several hours ago started to play in his mind.

-Gibbs's House Several Hours Ago-

Ducky had just arrived and, like all of Gibbs's visitors, had let himself in through the unlocked front door and made his way into the kitchen. That is where he found Gibbs making a fresh pot of coffee and stacking some files moving them to the side.

"Good morning Jethro!"

"Morning, Duck. You want some coffee?"

"Please Jethro! I must say that these long nights with little sleep are not as easy as they used to be. It has being too long since I have been overseas and I must confess I couldn't figure out what to pack." Ducky said with his usual cheerful tone, though he was visibly tired.

Gibbs gave a slight smile and a nod, "You can't fight time Duck. Age will eventually catch up to us all." Instead of giving his friend and opening to comment on his own age Gibbs opted to change the subject. "So, you got any problems with leaving Palmer in charge while we're gone?"

"None what so ever Jethro. Mr. Palmer may be young but that doesn't make him any less qualified to do the job. If there is one thing that my long life has taught me it is that, the new generation will always surpass the previous one." Ducky had said with a smile, but quickly turned serious again at the look one Gibbs face. He had noticed that his eyes continuously kept going back to that stack of files on the table. "What is the matter Jethro? I can see that you are deeply troubled about something."

Gibbs sighed. "Duck, I still don't understand why he kept us in the dark about this. I get the fact that this was a top secret mission and everything, lord knows I have been on my fair share. But, my kids are supposed to come to me with everything. How can I protect them if I don't know what is going on? Especially McGee. The more I read this files and report the more worried I get. This Operation that he is on is one of the most dangerous ones I have seen in a long time. How could McGee agree to take this on without telling me? What could I have done to lose his trust?"

Ducky knew this conversation was coming. He knew the moment he was briefed in the Directors office that his friend was going to need to talk about this. It was no secret to their colleagues at NCIS that Gibbs viewed those that worked under him as his own children. And it was no secret to the wise Medical Examiner that his friend viewed Timothy McGee as his youngest 'son', one that should be shielded from any and all harm. But, along the way, the ME knew that Gibbs had let this initial view of young Timothy corrupt the way he was treated. Instead of guiding him on his path and teaching him the trade of field work, Gibbs had left Timothy behind more times than not and had him working either at his desk or in the lad with Abigail in order to keep him 'safe'. This treatment inadvertently caused Timothy to teach himself if he wanted to learn anything new. Ducky had come to know the young agent extremely well over the years and knew that this treatment had caused Timothy to believe that he wasn't good enough to be taught by his Team Leader. That he had to learn on his own before he would be worthy of being taught by Gibbs. Originally the young agent had been disheartened, but then as the years passed and he learned more and more on his own he finally started to gain what he wanted most. Some attention and praise from the man he viewed as the father he never had. Ducky wanted to be plain and simple with his old friend that the issue was not a matter of trust but knew him well enough that he had to choose his words carefully when talking about one of his 'kids'.

"Tell me Jethro, why does young Timothy undertaking this mission bother you so much?" Ducky asked.

"What do you mean why does this bother me so much?! I just told you that this mission he is on is extremely dangerous and I am not there to help him! It is obvious that McGee is in way over his head on this one. If he had just come to me in the first place I would have been able to get him out of it!" Gibbs yelled.

"And why do you think he is in over his head Jethro?" Ducky raised his hand to stop Gibbs from speaking then continued. "My friend why is it that you feel that young Timothy cannot handle himself in the field? Why do you seem to think that he is not capable of doing things that any other field agent does? What is it about his abilities that make him inferior to Anthony or Ziva?" Ducky said with a meaningful tone, hoping his friend would pick up on what he was actually saying.

"What are you talking about Duck? McGee isn't inferior to anyone! Everyone on the team respects his abilities and I have heard people talk about how great he is throughout the halls of NCIS more than once!"

"Then why is he not qualified to handle this mission? And I can honestly say that from the outside looking in, it certainly does not look like young Timothy's abilities get much respect from his team." Ducky added.

"That's not true Duck! We all…" Gibbs started but was cut off again by Ducky.

"Then why do none of you acknowledge him openly? Think about it Jethro. How many times have you actually told him he has done a good job or that you were proud of him? How many times, if any, have you heard Anthony say anything to him or about him that was not meant to ridicule or humiliate him? The only one that has shown some respect to Timothy openly has been Ziva, though she does not show it as often as I think she should I have seen her give him praise openly."

Gibbs fell silent. He honestly did not know how to respond. He tried so hard to remember a time when he truly praised McGee's hard work. He had countless memories of praising Tony, Ziva, and Abby openly to the other agents of NCIS but couldn't think of a single instance where he had praised McGee. Gibbs could remember a vast number of occasions where McGee had cracked a case using his computer skills, or finding a crucial piece of evidence at a crime scene that led to an arrest, McGee had even saved not only Tony and Ziva's life but also his own on more than one occasion. Yet, after all of those things, he could not remember actually saying out loud to McGee or anyone else for that matter just how proud he was of his young agent.

Gibbs let out a long painful sigh and rubbed his face. "Did I push him away Duck? Did I force him into taking on a dangerous assignment in order to get just a little recognition from me?"

"_His eyes are almost open!" _Ducky thought to himself. "No, Jethro. Timothy makes his own choices, and never allows others to influence them. Also, I can tell you with absolute certainty that Timothy would never have taken this on unless he was sure he could do it. You just need to have a little more faith and confidence in your agent's abilities. Because, somebody obviously thought he could do it when they asked for him to take this assignment. "

"I know Duck. I know. It's just….it's just hard to look at him any other way." Gibbs said somberly.

At that Ducky looked up at the clock and knew that they needed to get on the road. "Come Jethro. We have a flight to catch. And as I will be able to catch up on some sleep, perhaps you can use the time to reflect and think?"

-Present-

Gibbs closed the file he was reading and tossed it into the chair next to him. After rubbing his tired eyes he glanced over at his sleeping friend. _"Hmph. Yeah you definitely can't fight time can you old friend?" _Gibbs thought. He then turned his attention to the other members of his team. Abby was sitting on a small sofa slurping on a Caf-POW! with Tony and both of them had their noses buried in McGee's NCIS personnel file, while Ziva was sitting by herself at the front of the plane with her headphones in and sharpening a set of throwing knives.

Tony and Abby's behavior was no surprise to Gibbs. He had known that those two would drive themselves crazy trying to figure out how McGee was qualified enough to get an undercover assignment abroad. Their curiosity, Gibbs knew, was brought on for completely different reasons. On one hand, Abby viewed McGee as a helpless puppy that couldn't do anything on his own and needed to be watched constantly. The Team Leader knew that deep down, one of the reasons he had left McGee at Headquarters so many times was just to keep his surrogate daughter happy, and that was something the old Marine was not proud of at the moment. He had purposefully denied field experience to his youngest just to put a smile on Abby's face, for this Gibbs was deeply remorseful. Tony was a completely different and much worse issue. People who had spent enough time around Tony knew he was incredibly insecure and had a huge ego to boot. Gibbs didn't mind either of these qualities, because he could see that despite those he was a damn good agent. However, in spite of his great field work, his insecurities and ego caused him to be deathly afraid of competition in the workplace. A fear he dealt with through callous behavior, disparaging of co-workers, and 'harmless' pranks. Gibbs was usually able to keep his SFA reigned in before things got out of hand, but when McGee had been assigned to his team things changed. Instead of attacking random co-workers all of Tony's callousness and frustrations became directed at McGee. Even eight years later Tony still treated McGee like a probationary agent instead of a fully fledged field agent, but that last part Gibbs started to feel a little responsible for. He himself had already realized that he didn't treat McGee with the respect he deserved either, and of course Tony took this as a sign that the Team Leader didn't really approve of McGee either so he continued to haze the kid without fear of repercussions. But, regardless of the non-stop hazing and indifference McGee continued to grow as an agent. Tony saw this growth as a threat to his position on the team and started to do anything and everything to make the younger man feel like he was a hindrance and inferior. But, much to everyone's surprise McGee had incredibly thick skin. Anything Tony tried McGee would just let roll of his back and he would never rise to Tony baiting. Tony, for whatever reason, took this silent resistance personally. Tony had said that his actions were all in good fun whenever questioned by a passerby and Gibbs thought the same, but looking back on it Gibbs could always see malice in Tony's eyes whenever he would look at McGee. Gibbs only had to step in one time and tell his SFA to grow up and to drop the rivalry that he diluted himself into thinking was there between him and McGee. Tony had deliberately under minded McGee for a mission to Iraq a couple years ago, saying that applying for the mission would only hurt his chances at getting selected; all the while Tony had filed the paperwork and requested the mission. McGee being the good natured man that he is had thought that Tony was being genuine in his advice and didn't throw his name in ring. When it came time for the mission to be assigned Tony had gotten an extra bonus when he received the mission, the Director openly chewed out McGee in front of the whole bullpen about being a no show in requesting the mission. Gibbs had been there for that moment and noticed the look on McGee's face. It was a look of confusion and pain. When the Director walked away he saw that McGee looked right at DiNozzo and looked utterly betrayed. While, DiNozzo had a smug look of accomplishment on his face and spared a glance of victory at McGee. When Tony returned Gibbs read him the riot act for his actions, saying it was behavior unbecoming of a Senior Field Agent of his caliber. Afterwards Tony had apologized to Gibbs and promised that it would happen again, but Gibbs could see right through the façade and knew immediately that Tony was not sorry about screwing McGee out of an opportunity to prove himself. Tony walked around on cloud nine for a week as he felt that he had finally put enough distance between himself and McGee, that no matter how hard he worked McGee would never be able to catch him and would forever remain in the Senior Field Agents shadow. Shortly after Tony's return Gibbs had been called to the Director's office and was questioned about Tony's deliberate undermining of McGee's career. Gibbs thought, at first, that McGee had complained to the Director and couldn't blame him but was surprised to learn that McGee never lodged a formal complaint with the Director over the incident. In fact, Vance had learned about DiNozzo's treachery, for lack of a better word, from the many agents that had been in the bullpen the morning DiNozzo lied to McGee, proving once again that Tony had earned no friends in his time at NCIS. Vance hated the fact that he had played the unwitting accomplice in Tony's scheme and, issued a formal 'private' apology to McGee the day he received the complaints. The punishment to Tony was also private. The only people that knew were the Director and Gibbs. Tony had been permanently barred from any future missions and undercover assignments unless expressly approved by the Director. Tony of course was oblivious to this fact even years later, which was why he was acting the way he was acting now. Tony had been complaining for the past twenty-four hours straight about how big of a mistake it was that McGee got picked for this mission over him saying things like, _"I can't believe someone would give that stuttering rookie this mission over me! I'm telling you he is going to end up getting himself killed over there because he doesn't have the qualifications that I do! I could have wrapped this mission up already, instead McLoser goes and gets himself shot and now we have to go over there and bail him out of trouble, big surprise!"_

Unlike the others, Ziva was sitting in perpetual silence for the majority of the trip. Both Abby and Tony had tried to engage her in their conversations about how wrong it was that McGee was overseas, since it was all that the two were talking about, but their attempts were answered with a few stern words that Gibbs had not been able to hear and by her putting her head phones in and tuning the duo out. As Gibbs looked at Ziva he remembered that since yesterday her behavior seemed odd. Gibbs couldn't put his finger on what it was but his gut was telling him that something was bothering her about the mission. He decided to have a talk with her before they landed to see where her head was at, as he couldn't have her going off the reservation once the wheels touched down. He stood up, grabbed his coffee and made his way towards Ziva.

As he started walking down the plane Abby nudged Tony and nodded her head towards Gibbs.

"Hey Boss! You got a sec?" Tony asked as Gibbs tried to move past.

Gibbs stopped and turned towards his two eldest. "What?"

Caught off guard by Gibbs' icy tone Tony started, "Well…um…I…we just wanted to get you opinion on something." He said with a glance towards Abby.

"About what?" Gibbs replied with his usual face.

"About McGee!" Abby blurted out. "He has been lying to us for years! And Tony and I don't think he is very trustworthy anymore!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gibbs asked visibly shocked at the accusation made by the pair.

"Well Boss, according to this," Tony said waving the file he was holding around, "McGee has been doing a bunch of courses behind all of our backs." Tony was clearly offended at the fact.

"What kind of courses?" Gibbs asked out of curiosity.

Tony opened the file. "For the past two years he has been taking a bunch of hand to hand combat training courses, he has completed advanced driving school, received explosives training; both assembly and disarming, he is currently ranked in the 99th percentile of weapons training, courses on advanced interrogation techniques, updated crime scene procedures, and has taken every course offered on tactical training." After reading the list off the list of accomplishments, Tony shoved the file back into his bag in disgust. Then he crossed his arms and looked at Gibbs expecting him to have the same reaction as him and Abby.

When Tony had finished with his rant Gibbs searched Tony and Abby's eyes. What he saw was not pride or even a hint of being impressed with McGee's accomplishments. All that was in their eyes was jealousy, resentment, and anger. "So you two think that McGee learning some new skills to make himself a bigger asset to the team and NCIS as a whole makes him untrustworthy? Are you out of your minds?" Gibbs asked completely beside himself.

"Look Boss. It is obvious what is going on here. McGee only took those courses to stroke his own ego. I can see it clear as day. He has always been jealous of me for being better than him in every way and probably thinks that by taking some classes he is going to somehow measure make up for his lack of skill in the field. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if that was how he got the assignment in the first place! He probably walked into the Director's office with his report card and was like 'Look at me! Look at me! I took a bunch of classes and should be given an undercover assignment!' and of course Vance being the beauricrate that he is gave it to him even though I am clearly the most qualified member on your team. I mean just look at what has happened so far! McLoser, has already taken two weeks and has nothing to show for it! As if his laziness wasn't enough he went and got himself shot! I knew he was pathetic but…."

THWACK!

"I honestly never thought you would ever be this clouded by your own vanity DiNozzo!" Gibbs growled. "How could you possibly say these things about McGee? The man has worked his ass off for the team and has contributed more than his fair share to solving cases. But, I guess that doesn't mean anything to you does it. All you can see is your own image being threatened."

"Boss. That…that isn't true! I am just saying that…" Tony stuttered.

"Enough Tony! McGee deserves your respect and praise for the things he has done. The man has saved your life on more than one occasion and all you do is belittle him and slander him behind his back!"

"But Gibbs…..Timmy lied to us!" Abby tried.

"Abbs, shut up! You know as well as I do that McGee has never lied to anyone! You are only upset because he didn't tell you. Regardless of what you might believe, McGee does not belong to you! He is fully capable of making his own decisions and the reason why he didn't say anything about this mission he was _requested_ for is because it is a Top Secret mission and he was ordered not to." Gibbs stared at his two oldest children with a look of disappointment. "You too need to do some serious reflecting, and if I hear either one of you talking like this again I will have you both shipped back to D.C. got it?" With that Gibbs continued on to Ziva.

Both Tony and Abby were stunned into silence. They had never been reprimanded by Gibbs before and were even more stunned that he had come to the defense of McGee. Instead of realizing their wrongs the pair had just gotten madder at McGee for stealing their surrogate father's attention. Unaware to the trio Ducky was silently observing the conversation from his seat. He too was disappointed in Tony and Abby's attitude toward McGee but allowed a smile to cross his lips when he heard his old friend stand up for him. _"Finally!" _Ducky thought to himself. _"At last Jethro has opened his eyes!" _with a slight grin Ducky went back to sleep.

Ziva had spent the majority of the flight by herself in silence. She occupied her time by sharpening a brand new set of throwing knives. This was quite the process as they were never sharpened before they were given to her. The few minutes she did speak it was to Tony and Abby early on in the trip.

-A Few Hours Ago-

"Hey Zee-vah! You mind if we join you?" Tony said with his usual grin.

Ziva looked up and saw Abby and Tony standing in the aisle waiting for her response. "If you wish." Was all she said and went back to sharpening her knives.

"Are those new?" Abby asked. "I haven't seen those before."

"Yes. They were a gift from my boyfriend. He gave them to me shortly before he went out of town on business." Ziva said as she could feel a sight blush, hoping that the pair didn't notice. She couldn't help it. Every time she thought of Tim she felt like a teenager with a crush.

Seeing her facial reaction to the mention of her boyfriend caused a bit of jealousy to stir in Tony's stomach. "Well anyway, Abby and I wanted to ask you something. We were thinking about putting together a double date. How does dinner and drinks sound?"

Ziva looked up with a snap and looked back and forth between Tony and Abby. "I was unaware you two were dating."

Tony and Abby both looked at each other with confused looks. "No we aren't dating Ziva. We were saying that Timmy and I would go out with you and Tony. That is of course after Timmy begs forgiveness for lying to me and making Tony look like a fool in front of the bullpen." Abby said.

Abby continued to ramble but Ziva stopped listening. She was absolutely fuming. Ziva already had to try her hardest not to give Abby a piece of her mind about breaking Tim's heart time and time again, and treating him like a doormat. It took everything in her power not to reach across the aisle and smack the insolence right out of her. _"How on earth could she say those things about my beloved? What Tim and I have is True Love! And she thinks she can just use him how ever she pleases, whenever she pleases?" _Ziva thought. "What on earth are you talking about Abby?" Ziva hissed as her dark eyes hardened and narrowed.

"She is talking about how Probie kept this mission from us even though we are supposed to be a team. I mean the guy has got some nerve going around behind are backs like this." Tony answered. "Oh wait! We're you talking about the date? Well we just figured that since you have only been dating this mystery guy of yours for a couple of weeks that it wasn't anything serious just playing around and since you know you and I flirt all time, you got to admit that there is something there Zi. And obviously McNoLoveLife is always going to be at Abby's beck and call, so we just figured why not do a double date and enjoy each other's company. Though I can't guarantee how fun McRecluse is going to be." Tony chuckled.

The anger that Ziva felt was now replaced with total shock. After working together for so long neither of these two knew anything about Tim or her. Ziva shook her head and look at them, "You two are absolute idiots." Then she reached into her pack and pulled out her IPod and put in her headphones, signaling that their conversation was over.

-Present-

Ziva was still angry at Tony and Abby's remarks about Tim when she finished her last knife, although admittedly not as much. She smiled to herself as she inspected the edge. Tim knew her so well. She was a little confused when he gave them to her completely dull but then he said, _"Ahavati, you know you are never pleased with any blade that you have not sharpened. Also, I know that you find it therapeutic to sharpen knives, so think of all the money we will save on shrinks!"_ Then he smiled at her. That beautiful smile that warmed her heart every time, along with those beautiful green eyes. Eyes so filled with kindness and love. Love that was only for her.

She didn't notice Gibbs until he sat down right in front of her, snapping her out of her musings. She pulled her headphones out and put her knives away. "Gibbs." She said simply after regaining her composure.

Gibbs looked her over. _"There is defiantly something on her mind, but what?" _he thought. "Everything alright Ziver?"

"Of course! I am just preparing myself for the mission." Ziva responded, but starting to feel a little uneasy about being caught in the 'Gibbs Gaze' as her co-workers called it. "Unlike some people I know." She motioned toward Tony and Abby in an attempt to divert attention from herself.

"I know." He said looking at the pair thankfully they were having a hushed conversation between themselves and not paying attention to theirs. "I saw you talking to them earlier. What happened?"

"They were talking like about idiotic things and insulting Tim, so I told them that they were morons for thinking that way and chose to ignore them with my music. I figured that would be the better choice over slapping them sally." Ziva said not noticing her slip of using Tim first name in front of Gibbs.

"_Tim? When did she start using his McGee's first name?"_ Gibbs thought. "Its slap them silly Ziver. Not sally. And they would have deserved it too. They are defiantly not acting like the professionals I trained or their age." Gibbs gaze another quick glance to Abby and Tony. "So, what's bugging you Ziva, besides Tony and Abby? You haven't been yourself lately. Does it have something to do with the assignment?"

"_I have to tread lightly here. Gibbs always knows when we lie or when we are hiding something. And now is defiantly not the time to tell him that Tim and I are seeing each other. What do I do?"_ Ziva's thoughts were running a mile a minute. "No. I am fine. I just did not get much sleep last night as I was getting ready and had to wait for Sarah to pick Jet up." She said.

"Sarah? As in McGee's sister?" Gibbs asked. Eyes starting to narrow.

"_Damn it! How could I be so stupid! He is most certainly getting suspicious." _Ziva was starting to feel uncomfortable, but hid it well. "Um…yes. I couldn't very well leave Jet with a stranger and Ti…McGee would not approve of a kennel." That was true, however Ziva did not mention that ever since her and Tim started dating, Sarah and Ziva became as close as sisters and hung out often. The night Sarah picked Jet up, her and Ziva and comforted each other and talked for several hours about what was going on and what was being done to help Tim. Just like in their own relationships with Tim, there were no secrets kept or lies told between the two women.

"Hmmmmm." Gibbs nodded. "So tell me about your boyfriend Ziva. We never got around to talking about him." Gibbs noticed how Ziva lightly blushed and then blanched at the mention of her boyfriend. Almost like she was trying to figure out what to say. "Were you able to get a hold of him before we left?"

"No I was not. He….had to extend his business trip for a few more days and I had to leave a message that I was going out of town." Ziva said hoping that Gibbs didn't press any further, she decided to offer information that he might ask for. "We have been together for nine months, and have been looking at getting a place together. He is a very charming man and makes me very happy."

"How did you guys meet?"

"We…..know some of the same people, and had bumped into each other on occasion. He was very shy at first, but he finally got up the courage to ask me out and he was just so adorable. He must have stammered for five minutes before I said yes. I did not admit it to him or any of our friends but I had been attracted to him for some time and had been hoping he would ask." Ziva started to smile as her memories ran wild and looked out the window.

"Do you love him?" Gibbs asked softly.

Ziva did not answer right away, but not because she wasn't sure. It was because it was difficult to put into words the amount of love she had for Tim. For Ziva the sun rises and set with Tim. And it was the same with him. The look he had in his eyes whenever he looked at her was one of undying love and affection. "Do you believe in soul mates, Gibbs?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs nodded remembering that he felt that way once, with Shannon his first wife. After she was lost, he never loved that way again as none of his other wives ever measured up to his Shannon. The love of a soul mate is a one time, one of a kind love. But if it is lost, no other love will compare.

"Then I need not say anymore." Ziva said looking into Gibbs' eyes knowing he knew how she felt.

There was silence between the two for a few minutes the whole time Gibbs was looking into Ziva's eyes. After a few minutes he got up to move back to his seat he paused and leaned down to Ziva's ear and whispered, "I am happy for you Ziva. We can talk about Rule 12 when we get Tim back home." And then he walked back to his seat with the slightest of grins.

"_How does he do that?" _Ziva thought. She was so shocked she didn't even notice Tony and Abby come back.

"Ok. Ziva, we know that you were little agitated earlier but hopefully now that you have talked to the boss man you are little more calmed down." Tony said bringing Ziva back to reality.

As Ziva looked at the two Abby started up, "But really though. We need to get these plans set in stone before we touchdown in Ireland, because we are gonna be too busy rescuing Timmy to talk about it. So Tony and I were thinking…."

As Abby began to ramble Ziva picked up her IPod and saw that the battery was dead, and then closed her eyes cursing herself when she realized she left her charger at home. Ziva sat back as Tony picked up the rambling with his own ideas and thought, _"This flight just got so much longer…"_

**-To be Continued-**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – Thank you very much for your reviews and comments. I am happy that you, my readers, are enjoying my story. Also, one of you was right about the nugget that was in the previous chapter but it will not come into play until later. Also, so there is no confusion, McGee and Mac are one in the same. When he is with the bad guys he is referred to as Mac, and when he is with his team or by himself he is McGee. Thanks!**

**Earthdragon**** – Try not to think of this as a character assassination, although I can understand what you are saying. I am just looking at Tony's and Abby's behavior and actions from a different, but not too farfetched perspective. You are one of my favorite reviewers and I hope you continue to read my story as I look forward to your insight and opinion with each new chapter.**

**Crawcolady**** - *Blush* your review means a lot. Thank you!**

**All other readers and reviewers**** – I love you guys!**

-Chapter 6-

-Director's Gulf Stream-

"All right listen up!" Gibbs said as he left the cockpit. "We are going to be landing in thirty minutes. Agent Thompson will be picking us up at the airport and from there we will be going straight to the Dublin Metropolitan Police Headquarters to take possession of the physical evidence and go over peliminary reports of the crime scene."

"Jethro, where are my patients? And have the autopsies been performed yet?" Ducky asked. He had woken up about an hour ago and after a couple cups of Earl Grey, the elderly ME was back to his normal gentlemanly self.

"The bodies have been transported to the local morgue, located near the Police Headquarters. And the medical staff has already been informed that they are not to touch the bodies as the Navy would be sending their own Medical Examiner to perform the autopsies before the bodies were sent back stateside."

"Are we involving Agent Thompson in 'Operation – Rescue Probie' Boss?" Tony said with a grin. It was clear he had spent a couple of hours trying to come up with a proper name for their mission and that was all he could come up with. His comment however, had caused Ziva to glare at him out of the corner of her eye. She was already close to pulling her hair out due to him and Abby talking her ears off about the things they could do for their double date once they got back home, and her patience was running dangerously thin.

Gibbs let out a loud sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose. "DiNozzo…if you had been paying attention during the briefing from Kort and the Director, you would realize just how stupid that question was. McGee is on a _Top Secret Mission_, and nobody aside from the people on this plane and a handful of people in D.C. know McGee is in the U.K. and undercover. Also, this is **not** a rescue mission, despite what you might think. We are here to **assist** McGee in bringing down a dangerous terrorist organization and breaking up a group of IRA weapons traffickers. Not to mention flushing out a mole in M-I6." Gibbs said with an icy tone. Then Gibbs gave Tony and very hard look and said, "That also means that you will put the brakes on that motor mouth of yours once we land. Got it?"

"Yes Boss!" Tony squeaked. Then he visibly gulped. He had forgotten just how scary the Team Leader could be when he had too little sleep and too much coffee.

"But Gibbs! Why are we wasting our time investigating a crime that we already know the answers to? Timmy needs us! He is surrounded by dangerous people and is probably scared out of his mind!" Abby protested.

At her tirade both Gibbs and Ziva rolled their eyes. "Again Abby…if you had paid attention you would already know the answer. Yes, we already know what happened to the four sailors and we already know who did it. However, we are the only ones and it needs to stay that way in order to protect McGee's cover. You and Ducky are here to filter and intercept any and all information concerning McGee that may come from the physical evidence or the bodies that Ducky autopsies during the investigation." Gibbs said. But one look at the Forensic experts face said she still didn't get what he was saying. "Remember there is a mole in MI-6, a British Secret Service Agent that is working with the IRA group that McGee is currently undercover with and is bound to be paying attention to this case as it could lead back to them. Not to mention, we don't have any idea of the type of connections the IRA group has in their own government. If we rush off to McGee's side then we could put him in more danger than he already is. And if they get any inclination that McGee is not who he says he is then he is as good as dead."

"Oh….well that makes sense I guess." Abby muttered weakly, embarrassed for not noticing the obvious.

Ziva spoke up for the first time, "But how could this MI-6 agent follow the investigation? It doesn't seem that the British government would have any reason to butt their heads into this case, as the murders occurred in Ireland and none of the deceased were British nationals. Plus, it would raise too many red flags if this traitor followed an investigation that didn't involve them."

"It's _'Butt the noses in'_ not heads Ziver." Gibbs replied with a slight smile. However she did bring up a good point. Admittedly, Gibbs knew next to nothing about the politics between Irish and English law enforcement but it did not seem that the Brits would have any reason to interfere.

"Actually MI-6 will have every reason to follow this case my dear." All heads turned to Ducky as he spoke. "The IRA has been a serious issue for the British government for decades. In fact, most of the incidents that are caused by them are investigated primarily by MI-6. And since U.S. sailors were killed in Ireland trying to sell military equipment to IRA members, along with the fact that said sailors came off a submarine that is currently docked in a British harbor, it is fair to say that MI-6 will be watching this case very closely and may even make their presence known to us before long."

A silence followed Ducky's words as everyone digested how delicate of a situation they found themselves in.

"This will make things difficult for us, yes?" Ziva asked turning back to Gibbs.

"Yeah. Which is why our primary task is, keeping all information about McGee and his mission to ourselves. We don't know who is friend or foe over here. So, just to be on the safe side we trust no one but the people on this plane. Agreed?" Gibbs said looking around.

Ducky, Tony, Ziva, and Abby all nodded in agreement. Then they settled in to prepare for landing and the start of their mission.

-Safe House near the Ireland-England Border-

Rachel and Colin were sitting with Mac in the bedroom trying to keep him comfortable. The safe house was comfortable but had very little supplies. Desmond had left a few hours ago to fetch more and had not returned yet or called. Of the few supplies they did have was a small first aid kit that barely had the tools to treat Mac's gunshot wound. Mac had lost a considerable amount of blood on the way to the safe house from the field where the shootout happened, and need to be treated immediately. Fortunately, Colin been trained as a medic and was able to treat Mac very quickly. Unfortunately, there were no painkillers or anesthesia in the first aid kit. So, Mac was forced to endure a bullet being dug out of his shoulder and being stitched up while wide awake and fully coherent. Afterwards, he passed out and had spent the past two days sleeping as he was on death's door from his blood loss and needed to recoup.

"He doesn't look any better Colin." Rachel said. She hadn't really slept or eaten anything since their arrival at the safe house. She was way too worried to even think about sleeping or eating. The possibility of losing another man she loved was almost more than she could bear. "Is he going to make it?"

Colin took a deep breath and rubbed a tired hand over his face. "It is all up to him, love." Colin looked at his sister. She was worn out. Her ragged appearance was brought on by two days of practically no sleep, barely any food, and immense worry. Colin had spent the better part of twelve hours begging his sister to rest, assuring her that he would take care of Mac, but she refused to leave his side for even a moment. He could see what was happening, he had seen it before. But it had been a long time since he had seen her this way and he was happy to see that his beloved sister had finally allowed herself to feel again. She had fallen in love with this mysterious American that had walked in out of nowhere. Colin could see why, the fact that he looked remarkably like Dylan, her late husband; Mac had many qualities that Rachel demanded in her partners. Intelligence, independence, the ability to take care of himself both physically and emotionally, and above all a fierce heart like hers. However, even though it was nice to see her walls come down, it did not mean she had to worry herself sick over it. "He is a strong man. Anybody who can go through that procedure with no pain killers is someone that won't succumb to death very easily." Colin smiled at his big sister. "Then again what do I know? I am only a doctor."

"You are a field medic, Colin." Then Rachel returned his smile and said, "But thank you little brother."

**BANG**

Both Colin and Rachel immediately drew their weapons and were on alert. Rachel positioned herself in between Mac and the door, while Colin motioned for her to stay in the room while he went to check out the house. After she nodded that she understood Colin exited the room and began clearing the house. As he cleared the rooms the rooms upstairs he crept downstairs but stopped at the bottom of the stairs as he heard noises coming from the kitchen. He stood outside the kitchen door listening intently and could only hear one person moving around. His gun at the ready, Colin burst in the kitchen ready to shoot the intruder, but stopped when he realized who the man was.

"Dammit Desmond! You scared the shit out of me! I thought you said you were going to call first." Colin said as he put his gun away.

"Sorry Colin." Desmond said without turning around. He was at the counter unloading supplies. "How's Mac holding up?"

Colin sighed a little bit. "It was touch and go for a little while, but he is stable now. He has been sleeping for a while. To be honest I didn't think he would make it at first but, he is starting to recover." Colin gave Desmond a long once over. The man looked just as worn out as himself and Rachel, but there was something else in his body language that Colin had never seen in the old man before. Desmond looked worried, but about what? "As tough as he is, I am sure Mac would appreciate some pain killers."

In response Desmond tossed him a bottle of extra strength aspirin. "It's the best I could get my hands on Colin." He said when he saw the look on the young man's face. "Have Mac take some of then we will eat. I got some news from Alex that you and Rachel need to hear." Colin nodded and exited the room.

When he reached walked in the bedroom Colin saw Rachel was still standing in front of the bed gun at the ready. "Desmond." He said simply and Rachel visibly relaxed while putting her gun away. Colin walked over to the bed and nudged Mac. "Mac, hey Mac." He said softly.

"Hmmm?" Mac murmured as he opened his eyes halfway.

"Here take these. They're aspirin, not going to do much but they should help. Sorry but it's the best we got right now." He said as he handed Mac four pills and poured a glass of water.

Mac swallowed the pills quickly and began to doze off again. "Knife?" Mac slurred.

Rachel picked up Mac's knife and walked over to him. "It's right here Mac." She said as she places it next to him. As she went to sit back down Colin placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Desmond wants to talk to us. He has some food and news from Alex." Colin whispered.

Rachel nodded and looked back at Mac. "I'll be back in a little bit with some food okay?" Then she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Get some sleep." She said and when he nodded her and Colin left the room.

Once he was alone McGee wiped the kiss off of his forehead in disgust and then gripped his knife tightly as his eyelids slowly began to fall. His last conscious thought was of Ziva and how she looked that day on the beach watching the sun set and the wind blowing through her dark hair. Right before sleep claimed him he could have sworn he smelled Ziva's perfume, she always wore jasmine.

-Dublin Airport-

As Gibbs and the team exited the plane they were approached by a man who looked to be Tony's age and a woman who looked to be in her late twenties, but she had the eyes of someone who had experienced more than most people her age.

"Special Agent Gibbs?" Gibbs nodded. "I am AOG (Agent on the Ground) Jack Thompson. This is my partner Rebecca Chambers. Director Vance briefed us that you and your team will be assisting us in the investigation of our four dead sailors. Something about a smuggling ring you were looking into?" Thompson inquired.

Vance came up with a vague but believable cover story, thanks in part to the years he was in charge of the LA branch and his own experiences behind the curtain. Gibbs and company were to appear to be investigating a worldwide smuggling operation within the US Navy that was selling military equipment on the black market using Navy vessels. The story wasn't that farfetched as that's what the dead sailors were apparently doing.

"That's right. We've been investigating a series of incidents where military equipment 'magically' disappeared from US Navy ships and subs whenever they would make port. Our investigation indicated that the missing equipment was being sold on the black market by a large smuggling ring comprised of US sailors. We have reason to believe your four bodies may be members." Gibbs stated. _"Rule Seven: Always be specific when you lie." _He added to himself.

"So you don't even know if **your **case and **ours **are even connected?" Rebecca chimed in. "I would have thought you DC people would have had more to go on than assumptions before you fly across the Atlantic to hijack someone else's investigation."

"Becky!" Thompson said firmly. His young partner was a damn good agent but her pit bull mentality had caused her to not be able to play well with others. And thus she had a tendency to rub people the wrong way. "We all have orders. And if this case and theirs are linked then they have every right to be involved. Not to mention it will get solved that much faster."

Agent Chambers sighed in frustration but didn't say a word in opposition to Agent Thompson. He was her Boss and friend. She respected him more than anyone she had ever met and trusted him implicitly. Not to mention, she knew what he was like when he got angry and that was something she was in no hurry to see.

"Now." Thompson said turning back to the group. "I know you must be tired from you flight so how about we drop off at your hotel and then we can get a fresh start in the morning?"

"If it is all the same to you, we would like to get started as soon as possible." Ziva said, with the others nodding their nodding in agreement Agent Thompson conceded.

"Very well, follow us. We have a couple of jeeps over there. It's a forty-five minute drive to police Headquarters." Thompson said then turned and started walking to the jeeps, Rebecca followed suit and quickly fell into step with her Boss.

"They are lying to us Jack." Rebecca whispered. "I don't know what it is but they are lying to us about something."

"I know." Jack responded. "See what you can pick up. We will ask for answers when the time is right."

Rebecca nodded and went to the second jeep climbing into the driver seat. Jack did the same with the first jeep.

As Gibbs and co. approached the jeeps Gibbs barked the seating arrangements. "Ducky, Abbs you're with me and Thompson. DiNozzo, you and David ride with Chambers." He wanted to keep Abby close to make sure she didn't start rambling on about McGee, and was hoping Ducky could keep her distracted with a story or two until they got to Police Headquarters. It was the same reason for sending Ziva with Tony. Gibbs knew that, besides himself, Ziva was one of the few people that could keep Tony in line, and would be able to prevent a verbal slipup from the SFA. Plus, he hoped the added distraction of the attractive Rebecca Chambers, Tony would be too busy flirting to talk about anything else.

As the team piled into the vehicles, Ziva started to rub her shoulder. Ever since she had stepped off the plane she had a slight discomfort in her left shoulder that came out of nowhere, and she could not stop thinking of her Tim, knowing that she was so close but still so far away.

-Safe House-

Desmond, Rachel, and Colin were sitting at the kitchen table eating in silence. Rachel and Colin were just waiting for Desmond to brief them about what's been going on and what their next move was to be. Desmond just sat at the table giving his subordinates a chance to eat before he delivered the news. After all of them finished their meals Desmond stood up and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and three glasses.

"_This can't be good." _Rachel thought. _"He only drinks during briefings when he has to deliver bad news."_

Desmond poured a large amount in each glass and handed Rachel and Colin theirs before returning to his seat. After taking a big gulp of his whiskey he looked at his two lieutenants. "The authorities found the bodies and have started investigating."

"Well that was expected, right?" Colin replied. "It's never been a problem before. The Dublin Police aren't exactly top notch when it comes to investigating murders. Most of their murder cases go unsolved."

"The Dublin Police are not handling the investigation. According to Alex, the Americans have brought in a special team attached to the Navy to take over. They work for some agency called NCIS; apparently this agency handles any and all crimes that involve the US Navy."

Rachel looked puzzled. "I haven't heard of them before. Are they a new Agency?"

Desmond shook his head. "They have been around for a while, they are just smaller and less well known than other government agencies."

"Then what's the problem?" Colin asked, he still was not getting why this seemed to unnerve Desmond so much. "If they are small than they can't be that big of a threat. I mean if Rachel hasn't even heard of them than they can't be worth knowing."

Desmond at looked Colin and Rachel, he could see both of them were thinking that this was a small matter. "You should never underestimate your opponent. Just because they are small does not mean that they are incompetent or harmless. Alex filled me in on some of their accomplishments over the years and I have to admit that some of it doesn't seem possible for such a small agency. But, if Alex is worried about them being involved than we have to consider them a serious threat and take every precaution."

The siblings shared a look. They didn't know Desmond's contact personally, but from what they did know of Alex was that the MI-6 agent rarely worried about anything. However, when Alex did worry it was for a damn good reason.

As if he could read their thoughts Desmond elaborated. "The fact that NCIS is involved is not the prime reason for worry. It is the team that they sent to handle the investigation. The team that was dispatched is the best Major Case Response Team they have, led by a Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Alex was only able to obtain basic information, but from what I was told, this Gibbs and his team are like a pack of hungry wolves on the hunt. When they get a scent they run it down without fail. We haven't had to deal with something like this before. We can't go back to Kilrush after what happened with the sailors, plus those investigators would probably locate us there in a matter of days anyway. Our only option is to keep moving."

As Desmond continued to relay the information he had to Colin and Rachel he could see that they came to the same conclusion that he had before he arrived back at the safe house. With a team like the one Agent Gibbs led on their trail, they were all on very thin ice and each step needed to be thought out and taken carefully.

Rachel drained her glass and asked the obvious question. "What's our next move?"

"Alex will be arranging a way for us to travel to London, but it will take a few days to set up. Besides I think Mac could use a couple days to recover. From London, we will travel to Paris to meet up with the buyers, and sell off Mac's program. After that we will disappear. Forever." Desmond stated.

Rachel and Colin were shocked. "Why are we still going through with the deal? With the type of heat on us, it would be safer to just cut out losses and disappear now." Rachel said. "Not to mention, I don't know if Mac will be ready to move in just a couple days." Colin added.

"He is going to need to be ready Colin we don't have a choice, and I don't leave my people behind." Desmond said with his usual no nonsense tone. "And Rachel, the people that are buying Mac's program are not the type of people you just cancel on. Also, if we are going to effectively disappear we will need the money from the deal." Desmond saw that they both understood but could see the unasked question in Rachel's eyes. "Yes Rachel, we will be taking Mac with us. Like I said 'I don't leave my men behind.' Now, you two get some rest and I will sit with Mac. Alex will call me when our transportation is arranged."

The siblings nodded and went to the living room and settled in for some much needed rest. Desmond stood up and grabbed some food from the kitchen and went to Mac's room. Desmond stood in the doorway and watched Mac's chest rise and fall. The man looked much better than he did the day before, but still looked rough. The old soldier set the food on the nightstand and grabbed a chair and sat next to the bed. He looked at the young man's face and could see he was in the middle of a dream. A small smile crept brushed some sweat soaked hair off of Mac's face. "Dream of better day's son. Because, when you wake up I am afraid we might find ourselves in the middle of a nightmare." Then the old man sat back in his chair and watched over his charge in silence.

-The Road to Headquarters-

The jeep with Ducky, Abby, Gibbs and Agent Thompson was quiet for the most part. Gibbs was just waiting for Abby, who was currently on a major caffeine high thanks to her Caw POWS, to start an uncontrollable rant about finding McGee. She almost started a few times but thankfully Ducky was there to distract her with one of his random tales of the UK or he would ask her a question that would redirect her thoughts. Agent Thompson was observing the trio the whole drive. It was clear to him that they were here for more than just the four bodies. What that was exactly was still a mystery, even though the girl almost spilled her guts a few times the old Scotsman seemed to shut her up before she could get started. Gibbs on the other hand was a functional mute just like himself. Jack Thompson preferred to listen than to talk and it was clear Gibbs was the same way. _"It won't be easy to get information out of this group."_ Thompson thought to himself. _"Maybe Becky is having better luck."_

The second vehicle Tony, Ziva, and Agent Chambers was a different scene. Ever since the trio got in the jeep it was filled with a one-sided conversation.

"So, Rebecca how long have you been an Agent? Tony asked.

"It's Agent Chambers." Rebecca answered with a tone that could freeze water.

"Ok-ay. Agent Chambers how long have you been an Agent?"

Silence.

"Oh come on. If we are going to be working with together for a while we should at least know a little bit about each other."

Silence.

"Alright….I guess I will start." Tony said and started rambling about his career, his 'accomplishments', and how just all around amazing he was while Agent Chambers remained silent and focused on driving.

"_I don't understand how anyone can work with this guy."_ Rebecca thought. _"Does he ever shut up? He clearly doesn't have any social skills. I am willing to bet he is one of those people that is afraid of competition, with the way he is carrying on about himself. And, what is with that pathetic excuse of flirting? He probably is only good for one-night stands with dumb blondes that have the attention span of a toddler." _Then she looked into the rear-view mirror, at the woman in the back seat staring out the window. _"What's her story? She hasn't said two words since we left the airport. She isn't American judging from her accent. Middle Eastern? She doesn't seem to be paying attention to the motor mouth. Judging by the look in her eyes, I would say she is lost in her own thoughts, or memories." _Then Rebecca saw the faintest of smiles cross Ziva's lips. _Definitely memories. Memories about a man maybe? A lost love? Or a current love, one that she desperately needs to be near?"_

Ziva had spent the ride in silence. She was lost in her own mind. She was barely aware of her current surroundings, as thoughts and memories of her and Tim danced around in her head. She started reliving her fondest of moments that had shared, places that they had gone, and things they experienced. Then she smiled.

-Flashback-

It was the night of their first 'date'. They had spent time outside of work together before but, this was different. Before it was just two friends having drinks or grabbing a bit to eat after work. This time it **was **a date, not just two friends getting together. Ziva had always appreciated McGee's company and enjoyed the time they spent together. But in recent months her feelings started to change. She found herself having a strange sensation build inside of her whenever he was around; either at the office or in field. She also caught herself stealing glances at him whenever he had his back turned or when he would talk to witnesses. These sensations soon turned into deep feelings of desire. It really shocked Ziva at first when she realized just how much she was thinking about McGee. She thought she was going crazy until McGee had asked her out to dinner. What told her that it would be a date was the way he asked. He had seemed very shy and was blushing. Not to mention his stutter, which he hadn't had in sometime, had come back in full swing.

The bullpen had been deserted for a couple hours and the only ones in it were McGee and Ziva. As McGee got up to leave he stopped at her desk. "Um…Ziva." Ziva looked up from her computer to look at McGee. "Um…I was j-just w-wondering if you…uh…had any plans for tomorrow night?" He swallowed heavily as he waited for a response.

Inside Ziva was ecstatic. She was fantasizing about going on an actual date with McGee for a while, but wanted to make sure that this is what she hoped it was. "Are you…asking me out…on a date McGee?"

McGee shifted nervously. "Well…I…um…"

Ziva beamed at him and said, "I would love to."

"Really?!" McGee couldn't hide his excitement. "That's great! I will pick you up at 6:30." He said while smiling. He started to walk away but stopped again and said, "Oh and dress formal." Then he was gone.

Ziva had spent the next day in a state mixed with excitement and nervousness. When she got home she immediately showered and then spent forty-five minutes tearing her closet apart trying to find the perfect thing to wear. She settled on a floor length red satin gown that hugged her curves and had a plunging neck line. She then fixed her hair and put on her favorite perfume, she always loved the smell of jasmine. The finished product was a sight to behold, Ziva looked absolutely stunning. At 6:30 on the dot there was a knock on Ziva's door. As Ziva went to open it, she could hear her heart slamming against her rib cage and had to take a couple deep breaths to calm herself before opening the door. What see saw on the other side took her breath away. McGee wore a three piece black suit with a burgundy silk tie. He was also rendered speechless at the appearance of Ziva. For what seemed like hours the pair just stared at each other, marveling in their beauty.

After shaking his head quickly, McGee smiled and presented Ziva with a single Lily. "You look beautiful Ziva. I can honestly say that I have never seen anything that can compare to you." McGee said with his ears reddening.

At his words Ziva too felt her cheeks blush. "Thank you McGee. I am also at a loss for words to describe you as well. I mean, I have always thought you handsome, but….oh what's the expression? _'You clean up nice?'_

McGee's face turned a darker shade of red causing Ziva to give a slight giggle, and then he cleared his throat, "Are you ready to go?" He asked offering his arm.

"Definitely!"

After hopping in McGee's porche the couple drove towards the harbor. "Where are we going, McGee?" Ziva asked, still overly ecstatic about her dream of going on a date with McGee coming true.

"It's a surprise!" He also was overly excited about being on a date with Ziva. He had a crush on her for years but never thought of pursuing it until recently. He had dreamed of this moment for months and wanted everything to be perfect.

"Here we are!" McGee said as they pulled up in front of a luxury dinner cruise. After getting out of the car McGee ran over to the passenger side and opened Ziva's door and helped her out of the car.

As he was escorting her up the ramp of the boat Ziva asked, "But McGee are you sure this is ok? I know you tend to get seasick."

In response McGee reached into his jacket and showed Ziva a packet of Dramamine. "I have already taken some and have enough left for the rest of the night. I just wanted to take you some place special and you can call me Tim if you want."

Ziva smiled and nodded. "Ok….Tim."

Dinner was a wonderful experience for the couple. The enjoyed a bottle of a fine red wine along with a five start meal. After their plates were cleared away, a band had appeared on the main deck. McGee then surprised Ziva when he stood up and offered his hand to her. "Ziva, will you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

Ziva was at a loss of what to say. She had always loved to dance but none of her previous boyfriends had ever taken her dancing. "I would love to Tim." She took his out stretched hand and allowed him to escort her to the dance floor.

When they reached the center of the dance floor, the band began playing a slow waltz. McGee then pulled Ziva into his strong arms and shifted his weight then began to lead her across the floor, never taking his eyes off her. Ziva was captivated by McGee's boldness and confidence on the dance floor. But most of all was the look in his eyes. His eyes held so much love, so much passion, and so much kindness that Ziva could not believe that any woman would let him get away once they had him. Ziva silently vowed that she would not do the same. McGee was a diamond in the rough and she felt so safe and loved in his arms. He treated her like a precious pearl and would die before hurting her.

Though McGee was constantly teased by DiNozzo for being a total flop when it came to women, it was actually the exact opposite. He could often tell by looking into a woman's eyes weather they would be in it for the long haul like he was or weather they could love like he could. The majority of his relationships were ended by him, unbeknownst to his colleagues, because he realized that his girlfriends did not want the same things he wanted. That was not the case when he looked into Ziva's eyes. McGee could see that she wanted the same things out of a relationship he did. He could see all of the love that she so desperately wanted to share and he was sure that she saw the same in his eyes. As they continued to float around the floor the band, the music, and the other couples slowly faded away; and all that was left was them. They were the only ones on the planet. When McGee suddenly stopped in the middle of the floor Ziva looked at him in surprise wondering if there was something wrong. Then McGee gently grabbed the nape of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss.

Ziva's breath caught in her throat as she was completely lost in the moment. As she inched closer to McGee's lips her eyes slowed closed. When their lips met sparks started to fly. A lifetime of emotions was transferred in that one kiss. All the love that they felt for each other, all the words they couldn't say, all the feeling they had, all of the worries they held due to past failures were shared in those brief moments. When they broke apart and looked at each other again they did not see a friend, a co-worker, or a partner. What they saw was the answer to their prayers. They could see the thing that they had spent most of their lives searching for, the thing that would fill the deep painful void in their hearts and make them whole. They saw their soul mate.

-Present-

"Ziva. Ziva! ZIVA!" Tony shouted. Finally bringing Ziva out of her trance.

"What Tony?" she said looking annoyed. Then she looked around and noticed they were parked in front of the Police Headquarters and Agent Chambers was already out of the jeep making her way over to the others.

"We're here. Geez! Whatever you were daydreaming about put it on hold. We got a job to do and a Probie to save!" Tony responded as he exited the vehicle.

Ziva followed suit and retrieved her gear, then joined the others by the front steps.

Gibbs looked at his group and then to Thompson and Chambers, who were already walking inside. "Alright, remember why we are here." He glanced at each of their faces being answered by a nod from each. "Let's go to work."

With that the group climbed the stairs following the two Agents, anxiously wanting to get started.

-To Be Continued-

**A/N – Hey readers! What did you think? Are you wondering what Tim is dreaming about? Well find out in Chapter 7! HA HA HA! Thanks For reading! I LOVE YOU GUYS!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N – Here it is ladies and gentlemen! Chapter 7 of Shadow Geek! I just want to say thank you for the continued support and patience. And thank you to all of my reviewers! Your words mean a lot and give me new ideas about where to take the story!**

**SkyJadePrincess**** – Thank you for the suggestion about Agent Chambers! It gave me an idea for a sub-plot that I think will work very well with the rest of the story. All I will say is that a Cat-Fight is on the horizon! HAHAHAHAHA!**

-Chapter 7-

_They were driving down the Highway on the way to the beach. It was one of the few weekends that they had off from work and they were going to make the most of it. They were in Tim's Porsche, but he was letting Ziva drive. It was a sign that he trusted her with everything. Ziva was surprised when he tossed her the keys, but knew it was his way of saying that she had his absolute trust and confidence. He didn't even let his sister, Sarah, drive it. The couple had a smile on their face as they zoomed towards their destination, with the top down and the wind blowing in their hair. Every once in a while they would steal glances at each other and wonder how they got so lucky._

_-Flash-_

_Tim was getting the picnic basket and blankets when he heard Ziva calling him from the beach._

"_TIM!" She yelled waving her arms. "I found the perfect spot!"_

_Even at this distance Tim could see her beautiful smile and the white dress she wore made her look like an angel. He then started walking over to her wondering if this was what Heaven would be like, as he felt the warm sand between his toes._

_-Flash-_

_The pair just finished eating lunch and Ziva was laying down with her head in Tim's lap looking up at the man of her dreams as he stroked her hair and staring into the bright green emeralds that were his eyes._

"_How could I have missed it?" She asked._

"_Missed what baby?" He asked with concern._

"_You. How could I have missed how amazing you are? The love you are able to share with me? Just….this." She replied while gesturing to the two of them._

_Tim knew what she was referring to. She was asking how they both could have wasted time with individuals that were not right for them. And, how they seemed to always set themselves up to be hurt in their past relationships. Instead of opening their eyes sooner and seeing what was right in front of them all along._

"_We both missed it Ziva." Tim said slowly still stroking her hair. "But that doesn't matter anymore, because we found each other. And I have no intention of ever letting you go. You are my soul mate, and the missing piece of my heart."_

_Tears started to form in her eyes as listened to his words. Ziva sat up and climbed into his lap wrapping her arms around his neck and gazing into his eyes. "I love you so much Tim. I can't imagine what my life would be like without you in it. I am just worried that after spending so long looking for the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and raise a family with, and finally finding that man in you, that something terrible will happen and I will lose you." She choked on a sob. "That would destroy me Tim." She whispered as tears flowed freely from her eyes._

_Tim reached up and brushed away her tears. "Ziva look at me." He said softly and waited until she lifted her gaze to his. "What we have can never be taken away from us. It may have taken a while for us to realize it but, we were destined to be together." He paused and kissed her lips gently before continuing. "This is true love. Do you think this happens every day?"_

_Ziva was at a loss for words after Tim's statement. It wasn't that she didn't agree with it or feel the same way, but she had seen so much sadness in her life and experienced so much loss she couldn't help but to expect the worst. However, unlike with any other man in her life, Ziva was able to draw strength and belief from the look in her lover eyes and the firmness in his words. But her greatest fear still weighed heavily on her mind. "But Tim, we both have very dangerous professions. We don't know which day will be our last…" Whatever she was going to say after that was silenced by Tim's finger on her lips._

"_Shhh my love." He whispered then pulled her close. "That scares me at times too. But do you want to know something?"She leaned back to see his face while she listened. "Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while." He said with a slight smile and cupped her cheek, willing her to believe his declaration._

_Ziva just looked at him for what seemed like hours, before she leaned in and kissed him, letting his love and strength wash over her. Effectively erasing all her worries and fears. Tim deepened the kiss as he rolled over and laid her down gently. Slowly they started to remove Tim's clothes and Ziva's dress, and pulled the spare blanket over them. The beach was deserted. And they made love with nothing but the sound of the ocean and the descending sun for company._

_-Flash-_

_Tim was sitting on the blanket looking at Ziva, who had her back to him and her eyes on the horizon watching the sunset. She was wearing her white dress and had the other blanket wrapped around her shoulders to protect her from the night breezes that started to come in off the water. Tim was thinking how beautiful she looked when she looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a warm smile. No words were spoken. She turned to face him completely and started to walk towards him. No words were spoken. When she reached him she still had the warm smile on her face as she seemed to be surrounded by the glow of the setting sun. No words were spoken._

_She crouched down in front of him so she was at eye level. She was still smiling, "You have to wake up now Beloved."_

"_I don't want to. I want to stay here with you." He whispered back to her._

"_I know my love. I know. But you have to wake up. You still have a job to do and a lot of people are counting on you." She said softly. "I love you Timothy McGee, stay safe until I get there." She said with the same warm smile while caressing his cheek._

"_I love you too Ziva David…" Tim answered, but as he reached out for her his vision went white and she was gone._

-Safe House-

As Mac opened his eyes he noticed that a figure was leaning over him and reacted. In a lightning fast movement he had the figure pinned to the wall by the throat with the knife in his free hand ready to plunge it into his attackers' heart.

"Whoa! Easy Mac. It's me Colin!" Colin quickly said. Trying to get Mac to see that he wasn't an enemy.

Mac blinked a few times trying to clear his vision. He slowly lowered his blade and released Colin's throat. "Sorry about that. I just reacted when I saw you standing over me." Mac said in a hoarse voice as he made his way back to the bed. Sitting down on the edge and rubbing his face he asked, "How long have I been out?"

"A few days. You were on death's door for a while, but you seem to be out of the woods now." Colin replied rubbing his throat. "I came in to check the stitches." He continued as he moved forward and started prodding the wound.

"So this is your work?" Mac asked looking at the stitches. "Not bad. Much better than most I have seen."

"Thanks! It's always nice to be appreciated!" Colin said with a smile as he continued his examination.

When Colin was done Mac said, "I need a shower." He could feel how dirty he was and what was worse he could smell it. He hated it.

"I was just going to say the same thing. I mean, I like you and everything Mac, but damn!" Colin joked as he fanned the air away from his nose. "Well the bathroom is through that door," he said pointing to the far wall. "And you will find fresh clothes in the closet here. When you are finished come down stairs, Rachel is making breakfast." He smiled and started to walk out the door.

"Colin!" Mac called. Colin stopped at the door and turned around to face Mac. "I really am sorry about earlier. That's no way to treat someone that saved your life. Thank you." Mac said while looking straight into Colin's eyes.

Colin looked right back at Mac with a blank expression then smiled, "Don't sweat it Mac. We are all soldiers here and we have all had the morning freak out more than once." With that he nodded at Mac and left the room closing the door softly behind him. As he walked down the hall he caught himself thinking that he was really starting to like Mac. To Colin it was like his older brother Dylan was alive again. As he descended the stairs he made a silent vow to the heavens that nothing was going to take this brother away from him. Anyone that wanted to lift a finger towards Mac would have to go through him first!

As he climbed into the shower McGee let out a deep sigh. It felt so good to have a hot shower even in the company he currently found himself in. _"I have to find a way to get word to Kort. I have been out of contact for a while. He must be getting worried. I wonder if he has contacted __**them**__ yet."_ He thought. As the hot water cascaded over his tone body loosening his tense muscles he was thinking about the possible ways he could get word out. However, each option he came up with was extremely risky. So close to the end he couldn't afford to take risks. When he stepped out of the shower and started to dry off he went to the mirror and wiped the fog off of it to get a good look at himself. He looked rough to say the least. But he was alive and in one piece more or less. Then his dream came back to him and he remembered the last thing Ziva said to him before he woke up. He smiled and said to himself, "Don't worry baby. I'm being as safe as possible. I can't wait to see you. I love you!" Then he exited the bathroom to get changed.

-Police HQ-

Ziva shifted in her chair. She had fallen asleep in the break room using her arms and a table as a pillow. "Tim?" she whispered as she slowly started to wake up. Blinking the sleep from her eyes she looked around and saw the break room empty. _"That's weird."_ She thought. _"I could have sworn I just heard Tim's voice just now."_

"Agent David?"

Ziva looked up to see Agent Thompson standing in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"You want some tea? It's not the best, but it does the job." Thompson asked as he made his way over to the cupboards.

"Oh yes! That would be wonderful, thank you!" Ziva yawned out, while rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?"

"08:00 AM. Workday just started." He replied. After the tea was finished he poured two cups and sat down across from Ziva handing her one. After taking a couple of sips he spoke again. "So, who's Tim if you don't mind me asking?"

At that, Ziva was instantly alert with her eyes darting around the room to see if anyone else was around.

"We're alone." Thompson said, as if reading her thoughts. "Agents Dinozzo and Chambers went to the morgue to get the results of the autopsies and physical evidence from Doctor Mallard, Agent Gibbs is in with Miss Scuito, and you and I are here."

Ziva nodded. "Tim is someone that is very dear to me." She said vaguely.

Thompson nodded and continued to drink his tea. "What does he do for a living?"

She opened her mouth to answer but, whatever she was going to say was interrupted by a very pissed off looking Agent Chambers and a very loud Agent DiNozzo entering the break room.

After seeing the look on Rebecca's face, Thompson leaned closer to Ziva and whispered with a small smile, "This is going to be good." Then leaned back to watch the scene unfold. Ziva turned to watch as well with a look of anticipation no her face.

Tony was in the middle of a story from his glory days on the basketball court at Ohio State. "So there it was, we had six seconds left in the game and we were down by one point." Tony was saying as he followed Rebecca into the break room. He leaned against the counter next to her as she started making coffee. "Even though my knee was busted and wrapped, the coach turned to me and said _'Tony we need you! You are the only one that can win this game for us' _Naturally I couldn't leave my team mates hanging so I walked over to the coach and took charge. I drew up a play and ordered the players into position. When the clock started again the ball was passed to me, and despite the unbearable pain I was in, I charged down the court. The clock was winding down and I had only made it to half-court. I didn't have time to do anything else so I jumped up and shot the ball right as the buzzer went off. The ball soared through the air and the arena was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. And as it closed in on the hoop everybody was holding their breath then…..umph!"

DiNozzo's tale of triumph was cut short of the climax by Agent Chambers opening a cupboard door into his groin. "Oh dear. I am terribly sorry Agent DiNozzo, are you alright?" She asked as Tony slumped to the floor cradling his 'Little Tony'. All she got as a response was muffled sounds of pain coming from the floor.

At that moment Gibbs walked in to get a refill of coffee and the scene that greeted him made him pause. Ziva was doing a very poor job of smothering her giggles, Agent Thompson had a smile on his face and was shaking his head slightly, Agent Chambers was leaning against the counter drinking her coffee and looking somewhat satisfied about something, and then there was DiNozzo. Tony was curled up in a ball on the floor and the only sound coming from him was a few squeaks of pain. Gibbs just rolled his eyes and walked over to the coffee machine.

"Does Miss Scuito have anything?" Rebecca asked.

"You just dropped off the evidence that Ducky gave you ten minutes ago, Chambers." Gibbs said in his usual monotone voice. "She's good but she's not a miracle worker, and she is still working on the other physical evidence you and Thompson picked up at the crime scene. Abby will call when she has something."

Rebecca nodded and went over to sit down next to Thompson. Gibbs followed and sat down next to Ziva. He turned around and barked, "DiNozzo! Quit lying around and get over here! In case you forgot we have work to do!"

"Yes, Boss!" Tony managed to get out in between gasps and started to crawl over to the table. When he finally made it to the table he very gently lowered himself into the remaining chair giving Rebecca a dirty look. She responded with a smug smile.

"Ok." Gibbs started. "What do we know?" Before anyone else could speak Ziva's phone rang.

"David." Ziva said.

"_Ziva its Trent. Go somewhere you can talk privately."_

Ziva tensed slightly. "Sure. Hold on." She said into the phone. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" She said to table but got up and walked out before anyone could respond. She walked quickly down the hall and found an empty office towards the far end. She entered the room and locked herself inside. "Ok. Go ahead."

She could hear Kort take a breath then say, _"We intercepted some chatter from the Brits. They are conducting a raid tonight. And before you ask, the SAS will be the ones performing it and they are under strict orders to capture the targets alive and in one piece."_

Ziva closed her eyes and processed the information. Her years in Mossad taught her all about operations like the one Kort had described. "So what you are saying is that Tim and his targets will be in MI-6 custody by tomorrow morning."

"_Yes."_

"Ok. But did they find them so fast? We just started looking and we have more information than they do." Ziva said but shook her head at her own words. She already knew the answer. "The mole in MI-6 is behind it. He is probably using the raid and capture as a smokescreen to get Tim and his targets into London as safely and as quickly as possible."

"_That's what I was thinking too. And it makes the most sense as well. I can only speculate but I think it has something to do with your guys' arrival in Ireland. It wasn't exactly a state secret that you guys were there to investigate those four sailors." _Trent said.

"Is that going to endanger Tim?" She asked starting to get worried.

"_No it's not. You guys may not be a secret but I can assure you that Tim is. They are probably just seeing this as extra heat they don't need and are moving with the best options they have. Also, Intel is showing that Crimson Jihad will be in Paris in five days, to buy Tim's program. Which means that even though Tim will be in MI-6 custody by tomorrow he probably won't be there for very long."_

Ziva took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "So whatever we are going to do, we need to do it fast. If we miss this chance to get into contact with Tim and get eyes on his targets we may not have another chance."

"_That's about right." _Trent said coolly. _"Look Ziva, I can't stay on the line much longer. When you meet up with Tim have him call me whenever he can. I have a SEAL Team on stand-by and they are just waiting for the word."_

"I will. Thanks Kort. For everything."

"_Don't mention it. Seriously." _Then he hung up.

Ziva closed her phone then looked at the clock. Her call with Kort took about thirty minutes. She had to tell Gibbs about the recent developments. This news was probably going to change their original plans dramatically and if they were they need to do it now. When she returned to the break room she found it empty. _"They must be in with Abby."_ She thought, and then made her way to the lab that Abby had 'borrowed'.

-Safe House-

Mac had entered the kitchen after putting on some fresh clothes. They fit surprisingly well for being a part of someone else's wardrobe. The first one to greet him was Rachel.

"Mac. How are feeling?" She asked once he walked in.

"Better. And really hungry."

"I'll bet! You haven't really eaten anything for close to three days. Well go have a seat and I will bring you some food." He nodded and walked to the table. _"God, he looks so much like Dylan. He even fits into his clothes perfectly!" _She thought as she got a plate ready with extra helping of eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

Colin walked out of the bathroom a moment later and fixed himself a cup of coffee. "Hey Mac! You're smelling better!" He joked, but the only response he got was Rachel punching him in the arm "OW! Hey it was a joke! Besides you didn't have to smell him before he got in the shower." He said taking a sip of his coffee and ignoring the glare Rachel was giving him. He made a second cup and walked over to the table placing the fresh cup in front of Mac along with a bottle of antibiotics. Desmond had gone out that morning to pick them up. "They're antibiotics." Colin clarified after getting a questioning look from Mac. "They aren't as strong as one you would get from a doctor but they will do the trick."

"Thanks." Mac replied accepting both the pills and the coffee. "Where's Desmond?" he asked as Rachel set his breakfast down and took the seat next to him. He didn't wait to hear the answer before he started eating.

"He's out back. He is on the phone with his contact securing our transportation to London." Rachel said while drinking her tea. "We still have to make the meeting in Paris, with the people who are going to be buying you computer program. Once the deal is done the four of us will disappear."

"Four of us?" Mac asked with a raised eyebrow and a mouth full of eggs.

"That's right Mac." Desmond said walking back into the room.

"I don't understand." Mac said as he watched Desmond make himself some tea.

"We are taking you with us Mac." Desmond continued. "We are all, and I am sure you are too, tired of living this kind of life. We have seen and experienced too much and we want more than just war and sadness out of life. Rachel, Colin and I are all that is left of our family. Rachel was married to my son, and Colin as you know is her younger brother. They were both orphans when they entered our lives." He sat down at the table and looked at Mac. "I have seen many things in my life Mac. Most of which were horrifying. I have seen my wife die slowly in a hospital bed. I watched as my son, Dylan, was shot to death in a British ambush and I have buried too many friends over the years. Rachel and Colin are the only family I have left and I don't want to see them live this life anymore. They have already seen too much. And I can see in your eyes that you have seen and done a great deal as well. But, we now have a chance to escape this life, and we want you to come with us. The three of us feel a commrodary with you and none of us want to lose it." Desmond said drinking his tea.

"But you don't even know me. How can you say that you want me to come with you?" Mac stated, completely shocked at this turn of events.

"I told you upstairs Mac. We are all soldiers here." Colin chimed in. "And as you know, it doesn't take long for a soldier to figure someone out." He said with a smile.

"You don't have to give us an answer right now Mac." Rachel said placing her hand on his. "Just say that you will think about it."

Mac was silent for a moment then, simply nodded. He turned back to Desmond and asked, "So, how are we getting into London?"

"We are getting picked up." He said simply.

"By who? Your contact?" Rachel asked.

"Nope. SAS will be conducting a raid here later tonight and will be taking us into custody. Then once in London we will be turned over to MI-6, and then interrogated." He said coolly.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Colin yelled. "We are wanted criminals by the British authorities Desmond! What the hell is Alex thinking?!"

"_Alex?!" _Mac thought. _"That has to be the mole in MI-6!"_

"It is the only way to ensure we get into London safely Colin. Especially with the heat that is on us already." Desmond countered. "Besides once we are interrogated, we will be transferred then lost in the system."

Colin sighed and then nodded. Rachel didn't say anything as she knew this was their only option. It was far safer and quicker to do it this way than to run the risk of getting caught trying to enter London illegally. Mac cleared his throat and asked, "What heat are you talking about? Are the Irish authorities after us for killing the sailors?"

Desmond looked at him a little confused for a second, and then realized that he never told Mac about the American team being brought in to investigate the shootout. _"Better fill him in"_ He thought. "No Mac. It is not the Irish authorities. The Americans have sent in a team that works for a Federal Agency tied to the US Navy. Have you ever heard of NCIS?" Mac kept a straight face and shook his head no. "Well that's not surprising." Desmond then started telling him about the team led by a Leroy Jethro Gibbs that was now hot on their trail.

-Forensics Lab (Dublin)-

When Ziva entered the lab Abby was finishing up going over the ballistics report to Gibbs, Tony, Agent Chambers, and Agent Thompson.

"So in closing, aside from our four dead sailors there were four other shooters. Three of them had 9mm and one had a .45 caliber. From what Duck-man has giving me three of the four sailors were killed by the same guy, where as unlucky number four was killed by the other three bad guys. Oh! And the one dead bad guy was killed by the sailors. According to the evidence, he was the first to drop because he never drew his weapon. But you already knew that! Anyway, right now I am running the prints through AFIS and Interpol and the blood samples through my adopted MASS Spec, so I don't know when I will get a ding. But when I do you will be the first to know. Hi Ziva!" Abby said in her usual caffeine fueled ramble.

Everyone turned to look at Ziva, which made her feel a little uncomfortable after the news she just got.

"Everything alright Ziver?" Gibbs asked, picking up on her discomfort.

"Yes…" She started but was interrupted by Tony.

""Was it you boyfriend?" Tony asked. Then he tsked and shook his head at her. "You should know better than to take personal phone calls on the job David."

THWACK!

"Sorry Boss!" Tony grumbled rubbing his head.

"So who was on the phone?" Gibbs tried again turning back to Ziva.

Before Ziva could begin a loud Ding was heard from the computers.

"Oh! I got a Ding! Sweet! I love when I get a Ding! Ok. Let's see what we have here!" Abby exclaimed.

"Put them up on the screen Abby." Gibbs ordered, forgetting about Ziva's phone call for the moment.

"Ok. First we have Desmond Miles, the guy kind of looks like you Gibbs!" Abby said with a smile as his profile came up on the screen, but quickly got back to business after getting a glare from Gibbs. "Next up is Rachel and Colin Byrne, they are brother and sister." She said as their profiles came up on the screen.

"Wow! She is cute! How old is she Abbs?" Tony asked but then changed his tune at the look Gibbs gave him. "I mean, what else you got Abby?"

Abby just smiled and started typing again, "Alright, last but not least. Our fourth bad guy is….Terrance McGreggor!" she said as the last profile came up.

Gibbs and his crew grew silent as McGee's cover identity came on the screen.

"_McGreggor? Very original Probie! Stealing your name from your own book!" _Tony thought. Fortunately he had enough sense of his surroundings to keep that comment to himself.

Nobody noticed the wide-eyed expression on Agent Chambers face as she looked at the profile of Terrance McGreggor. Gibbs and company had almost forgotten about the presence of Agents Thompson and Chambers until they heard Rebecca tell her Boss that she needed to speak with him privately. That comment snapped the group back to reality, and they watched as the pair left the room. Gibbs went to follow them but Ziva stepped in his way to prevent him from leaving. This was probably going to be their only chance to have a private discussion and she needed to take advantage.

"What is it Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"The phone call I received." She responded, keeping her voice low.

"What about it?" Tony chimed in as he approached the pair.

Ziva's eyes didn't leave Gibbs. "It was Kort. He called with some news that is going to change our original plans."

"WHAT!" Tony exclaimed. "Why is he calling you?! How did he even get you number?! Wait! Is he your new boyfriend?! Cause if he is…."

THWACK

Tony's Abby-like ramble was cut short be a very hard slap to the side of the head. Only this one was delivered by Ziva, not the Team Leader. "Firstly, no. Kort is not my boyfriend! Secondly, if you would shut up you would know why he called! And third, we are in the middle of a mission so kindly start acting like the professional you pretend to be instead of a little child!" Ziva hissed.

"Enough!" Gibbs barked. "What did Kort want Ziva?"

Ziva then filled in Gibbs, Tony and Abby about the news Kort had shared with her, and the possible changes they might have to make to their original plan of action.

Up on the second floor Jack and Rebecca were walking into his office. After the pair entered Jack closed the door and locked it. "Ok Becky, what is it?" Jack asked.

"That guy, McGreggor, the last one that came up on the screen." She started, clearly distracted.

Jack had never seen the kind of behavior in his young partner before. "What about him?"

"He is not a mercenary. Hell his name isn't even McGreggor." She blurted out as she started to pace the small office.

Jack got to his feet and grabbed his young partner by the shoulders to stop her pacing and force her to look at him. "Becky, do you know him? She nodded. "Who is he?"

Rebecca closed her eyes for a few seconds then took a deep breath and looked her superior right in the eyes. "His name is Timothy McGee. He is one of us Jack. He's NCIS."

-Twenty Minutes Later-

Jack Thompson was walking down the hall when he spotted the man he was looking for coming out of the bathroom and made a bee-line right for him.

Gibbs had spent the last few minutes looking for Thompson. He checked everywhere he could think of including the bathroom with no luck. He was getting ready to call him until, he saw the man in question at the end of the hall walking his direction. _"Finally." _He thought and walked over to him.

"We need to talk." They said in unison. "What?" They said in response to the other.

After a moment of silence Thompson looked around and flicked his head towards the elevators. They climbed inside and Thompson pressed a floor. Once the elevator was in motion Thompson hit the emergency stop switch. "Ok Gibbs. You go first." Then he crossed his arms ready to listen.

**-TBC-**

**Cliffhanger! :P Hope you enjoyed it! Fear not though Chapter 8 is in the works and will be added soon! Please review and let me know what you think. Also, if you have a suggestion, I might just incorporate it into the story! Much love!**


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